Preparation and Characterizations of PSS/PDADMAC Polyelectrolyte Complex Hydrogel

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Polymer Chemistry
• Biomaterials

Background:

• Polyelectrolyte complex (PEC) hydrogels offer non-toxicity and solvent-free preparation.
• Physically electrostatic crosslinks between polyanions and polycations form PEC hydrogels.
• Existing PEC hydrogels require further optimization for stability and specific applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize and characterize poly (sodium 4-styrenesulfonate)/poly (diallyl dimethyl ammonium chloride) (PSS/PDADMAC) complex hydrogels.
• To investigate the morphology, dimensional stability, and viscoelastic properties of the prepared hydrogels.
• To evaluate the water absorbency and dye affinity of PSS/PDADMAC hydrogels.

Main Methods:

• Preparation of PSS/PDADMAC complex aggregates followed by resolubilization to form a homogeneous PEC solution.
• Dialysis of the PEC solution using a 3500 molecular cut-off membrane to control electrostatic interactions.
• Characterization using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) analysis, and Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA).

Main Results:

• Homogeneous PEC hydrogels with a porous morphology were successfully synthesized.
• SEM and BET analyses confirmed the porous structure of the hydrogels.
• DMA experiments demonstrated the viscoelastic behavior of the PSS/PDADMAC hydrogels under compression.
• The hydrogels exhibited high water absorbency and excellent affinity for textile anionic dyes.

Conclusions:

• The developed PSS/PDADMAC hydrogels possess a controllable porous structure and desirable viscoelastic properties.
• These hydrogels demonstrate significant potential for applications requiring high water absorbency and dye binding capabilities.
• The solvent-free and non-toxic nature of PEC hydrogels makes them attractive for various advanced material applications.