Hepta(3,3,3-trifluoropropyl) polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane-capped poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) telechelics: synthesis and behavior of physical hydrogels

ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2011 Mar;3(3):898-909. doi: 10.1021/am101258k. Epub 2011 Mar 7.

Abstract

Hepta(3,3,3-trifluoropropyl) polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS)-capped poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm) telechelics with variable lengths of PNIPAAm midblocks were synthesized by the combination of reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer polymerization (RAFT) and the copper-catalyzed Huisgen 1,3-cycloaddition (i.e., click chemistry). The POSS-capped trithiocarbonate was synthesized and used as the chain transfer agent for the RAFT polymerization of N-isopropylacrylamide. The organic-inorganic amphiphilic telechelics were characterized by means of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) and gel permeation chromatography (GPC). Atomic force microscopy (AFM) shows that all the POSS-capped PNIPAAm telechelics exhibited microphase-separated morphologies, in which the POSS terminal groups were self-assembled into the microdomains and dispersed into the continuous PNIPAAm matrices. The POSS nanodomains could behave as the physical cross-linking sites and as a result the physical hydrogels were formed while these POSS-capped PNIPAAm telechelics were subjected to the solubility tests with water. These physical hydrogels possessed well-defined volume phase transition phenomena and displayed rapid reswelling and deswelling thermoresponsive behavior compared to control PNIPAAm hydrogel.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Absorption
  • Acrylic Resins / chemistry*
  • Hardness
  • Hydrogels / chemistry*
  • Materials Testing

Substances

  • Acrylic Resins
  • Hydrogels
  • poly-N-isopropylacrylamide