Abstract
This paper reports swelling behavior of cellulose nanocrystal (CNC)-based polyacrylamide hydrogels prepared by a radical polymerization. The CNC acts as a nanofiller through the formation of complexation and intermolecular interaction. FTIR spectroscopy and XRD studies confirmed the formation of intermolecular bonds between the acrylamide and hydroxyl groups of CNC. The swelling ratio and water retention were studied in de-ionized (DI) water at room temperature, and the temperature effect on the swelling ratio was investigated. Further, the pH effect on the swelling ratio was studied with different temperature levels. Increasing the pH with temperature, the prepared hydrogel shows 6 times higher swelling ratio than the initial condition. The swelling kinetics of the developed hydrogels explains that the diffusion mechanism is Fickian diffusion mechanism. Since the developed hydrogels have good swelling behaviors with respect to pH and temperature, they can be used as smart materials in the field of controlled drug delivery applications.
Highlights
Hydrogels are widely utilized polymers with fascinating properties and predominantly applied in various modern scientific and technological fields [1,2,3,4,5]
The capacity of swelling behavior in hydrogels occurs as a result of ionization, which makes it possible to absorb water arising in hydrophilic functional groups attached to the cross-linked polymer backbone and through the difference in swelling osmatic pressure between the gel phase and solvent phase
Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) were blended in polyacrylamide to reinforce their elastic, dielectric, and electromechanical properties, which are applicable for soft electroactive materials in an active lens [17]
Summary
Hydrogels are widely utilized polymers with fascinating properties and predominantly applied in various modern scientific and technological fields [1,2,3,4,5]. Materials 2019, 12, 2080 considerable studies have been done to improve the mechanical, chemical, and electromechanical properties of polyacrylamide hydrogels by blending nanofillers such as polymeric nanoparticles, inorganic clays, and metal nanoparticles [14,15,16]. Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) were blended in polyacrylamide to reinforce their elastic, dielectric, and electromechanical properties, which are applicable for soft electroactive materials in an active lens [17]. Groups on its surface, it can be blended with other polymers Owing to these properties, CNCs are broadly used in hydrogel technology to improve their physical and chemical properties for various fields, such as drug delivery, tissue engineering, and biomedical applications [23,24,25]. CNC-reinforced, mechanically stiff, and bioactive hybrid hydrogels were developed for bone tissue engineering applications [27]. We studied their swelling studies in different pH solutions, temperatures, and combinations of pH and temperature effect and swelling kinetics studies
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