Effect of solvent on the gelation properties of a metallo-organic polymer of [Fe(II) (4-octadecyl-1,2,4-triazole)3(ClO4)2]n

In this contribution we report on the preparation of thermally responsive supramolecular gels obtained through self-assembling of metallo-organic polymers of lipophilic Fe(II) complexes of 1,2,4-triazole functionalized with octadecyl chains ([Fe(II) (4-octadecyl-1,2,4-triazole)₃(ClO₄)₂]_n) in three organic solvents: toluene, cis-decalin and trans-decalin. A gel phase is formed in these solvents by cooling the homogeneous complex solutions below a well-defined temperature, the so-called gelation threshold. These gels are reversible as they form homogeneous solutions upon heating above the melting temperature. The systems have been characterized for their thermal and viscoelastic properties through differential scanning calorimetry and rheological experiments, respectively. The effect of the solvent type and concentration on the gelation behaviour of the metallo-organic polymer has been analysed. The results obtained point to structural differences and different gelation mechanisms for the gels prepared in different solvents and they also suggest the possibility to control the spin-crossover transition temperature associated to the sol-gel transition.     

Synthetic thermally reversible gel systems. VI

Forming and conditioning thermally reversible aqueous gels of polyacrylyglycinamide (PAG) at various temperatures has little effect on either the melting point (T_m) of the gels or the heat of crosslinking (ΔH_c) except at temperatures where partial hydrolysis can occur. This is added evidence that unlike with gelatin, crystallite formation does not play a role in gel formation. For unfractioned PAG, the linear relationship between the logarithm of molecular weight and 1/T_m predicted and observed for gelatin gels, does not hold. With mixed gelatin-PAG gels, a gelatin/PAG ratio of ≥4 completely inhibits the formation of a PAG gel network. At lower gelatin/PAG ratios, the PAG network forms, and if gelatin is considered as an inert diluent, normal values for the melting points and ΔH_c for PAG gels are observed. At a gelatin/PAG ratio of 4, the presence of PAG reduces the ΔH_c for the gelatin gel by inhibiting the formation of as large or as ordered crystallite crosslinks. To reconcile the problem of aggregation preceding gelation one can assume that M?_w of an aggregate is a linear function of C². If this is done, the same relationship which normally relates C with T_m is obtained. The equilibrium swelling of PAG films in water at 25°C is markedly molecular weight-de-pendent and can vary from below 5 to about 40 wt-% polymer at equilibrium. It has been found that long-term dark storage of dry samples of PAG under ambient temperature conditions results in pronounced decreases in the intrinsic viscosities of their aqueous solutions. It is speculated that this results from weak links, perhaps peroxy, in the polymer backbone. The possible relationship of this phenomenon to the slow stage of the viscosity deterioration of aqueous polyacrylamide solutions is pointed out. The higher viscosity of low DP PAG in 2M NaCNS compared to H₂O and the larger percentage increse of [η] with increasing temperature in the latter, verify the greater solvent power of 2M aqueous thiocyanate for PAG. At a concentration level of 3%, aqueous PAG solutions are almost Newtonian whereas at higher concentrations (5%), the viscosity decreases appreciably with increasing rates of shear. The copolymerization of AG with isopropylacrylamide has been studied and the somewhat unusual results discussed. Copolymers containing an AG mole fraction greater than 0.40 do not exhibit a cloud point up to 100°C. If the isopropylacrylamide mole fraction approaches 0.60, the solutions do not gel down to 0°C. This ability to prepare copolymers over a narrow composition range that neither gel or undergo phase separation in the temperature range 0–100°C is probably related to the random distribution of monomer units in the copolymer backbone.     

Synthetic thermally reversible gel systems. III

Polyacrylylglycinamide (PAG) and its thermally reversible aqueous gels have been investigated and comparisons made with gelatin. For unfractionated PAG homopolymers in 2M NaCNS at 25°C, the Mark-Houwink-Sakurada equation is [η] = 1.16 × 10^?3 M?_n^0.52. The Huggins k′ value is found to be about 0.9 and the Flory-Huggins polymer-solvent interaction parameter, 0.49. A theoretically calculated value of K_θ is very close to the experimental one and it is for this reason and the observed μ and M?_n exponent values that 2M NaCNS at 25°C approaches being a θ solvent for PAG. A thermodynamic approach based on equilibrium swelling and modulus measurements indicates that a single thermally reversible crosslink in a gelatin gel involves numerous peptide backbone units, whereas in PAG gels a crosslink perhaps involves only one residue from each of two chains. These results complement the very high exothermic heat of gelation crosslinking, δH_c, for gelatin compared to PAG. ΔH_c has been measured on PAG samples of different DP and found to be independent of chain length. Similar measurements on acrylylglycinamide copolymers and terpolymers containing basic and acidic groups produce no change in δH_c so that coulombic forces do not appear to be significant. Data are also included relating to the density of PAG, its glass transition and thermal decomposition temperature, the tensile modulus of equilibrium-swelled PAG films in water and the chain-transfer constant of methanol with the acrylylglycinamide free radical.     

A hybrid polymer gel and its static nonergodicity

We used a thermally reversible hybrid gel made of billions of physically jam-packed, swollen, thermally sensitive poly(N-isopropyl-acrylamide) chemical microgels. Laser light scattering study on a series of such hybrid gels formed at different gelling rates and temperatures revealed that the position-dependence of the scattering speckle pattern (static nonergodicity) came from large voids formed during the sol-gel transition. With proper preparation, such nonergodicity is completely removed, indicating that the static nonergodicity generally observed in a gel is not intrinsic, but comes from clustering “island” structures formed during the gelation process.     

Development and rheological investigation of novel alginate/N‐succinylchitosan hydrogels

In the present article alginate hydrogels and novel hydrogels based on blends of alginate/N‐succinylchitosan have been realized in water solution at neutral conditions. The gels have been obtained by crosslinking via the internal setting method using calcium carbonate (CaCO₃) as calcium ions source. A rheological investigation of both the plain alginate and the alginate/N‐succinylchitosan blend hydrogels has been performed by means of oscillatory dynamic measurements. The effect of the inclusion of different amounts of CaCO₃ on the critical deformation (γ_c) characterizing the limit of the linear viscoelastic regime has been studied for the plain alginate gels. The frequency response in small amplitude oscillatory experiments of the plain alginate gels has been investigated in terms of the storage (G′) and loss (G″) modulus behavior. The dynamic data have been interpreted in terms of the Friedrich and Heymann model. The inclusion of the N‐succinylchitosan, in the range 10–50% w/w, had no effect on the γ_c values. On the contrary, when the 10% w/w of the N‐succinylchitosan is added to the plain alginate gels, a significant increase in the storage modulus values is recorded for all the systems analyzed. The gelation kinetics has been investigated and the results indicate that the kinetics process can be accelerated increasing the percentage of Ca⁺² ions and/or including the N‐succinylchitosan in the plain alginate systems. Finally, the morphological analysis of scaffolds obtained from the hydrogels through freeze‐drying revealed an interconnected porous structure. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 46: 1167–1182, 2008     

Synthetic thermally reversible gel systems. VII

Polymethacrylylglycinamides (PMG), like polyacrylylglycinamides (PAG), form thermally reversible aqueous gels, but higher molecular weights and/or concentrations are required and the melting points of the gels are lower. The heats of crosslinking for aqueous PMG gels fall in the range of ?5 to ?10 kcal/mole of crosslinks, the same as for aqueous PAG gels, implying that the crosslinks are chemically similar. PMG and PAG are incompatible with each other but both are individually compatible with some types of gelatin. The solubilities of PMG and PAG are similar. Various reagents, however, affect PMG and PAG gels in quite different manners. Aqueous PMG solutions, just outside conditions required for gelation, are rheopectic. Intrinsic viscosities [η] of PMG in 2M NaCNS are about 2.5 times those in water. The Huggins' k′ value for PMG in 2M NaCNS has a value of 0.39–0.40, and both it and [η] are essentially temperature-independent over the range 25–45°C. In water at 25°C for PMG, k′ has an average value of about 1.4. With increasing temperature, for H₂O, there is a considerable increase in [η] which is accompanied by a decrease in the value of k′. Osmotic molecular weight measurements on unfractionated PMG in H₂O at 40°C yield π/c versus c plots having essentially zero slope, implying a value of close to zero for the second virial coefficient, a value of about 0.5 for the polymer–solvent interaction parameter, and a condition close to a θ condition. An approximate viscosity–M _n relationship for polydisperse PMG is [η]_{2M NaCNS, 25deg;C} = 1.7 × 10^?8 M _n^1.5. The low value of K and high value of the exponent do not result from large differences in polydispersity but rather from a stiff, rodlike configuration in solution. This steric hindrance to rotation also manifests itself in the extreme brittleness of PMG films and in a ΔH_p for homopolymerization of only ?6 kcal/-mole. The infrared spectra of MG monomer and PMG are recorded as well as the density and refractive index for PMG. PMG has a glass transition at 226°C by DTA and by TGA, thermal decomposition sets in at about 300°C. From copolymerization with acrylic acid, values of 1.66 and +0.06, respectively, were obtained for the resonance factor Q and the electrical factor e for MG monomer.     

Features of the Interaction of Alcian Blue with Gels Based on Copolymer of <Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>-Vinylcaprolactam and Methacrylic Acid

The interaction of N-vinylcaprolactam–methacrylic acid copolymer hydrogel and N-vinylcaprolactam homopolymer hydrogel with alcian blue in aqueous solutions is studied. It is shown that copolymer gel are thermo- and pH-sensitive. Dye sorption by the copolymer gel and gel swelling degree depends on the pH of the solution. The features of the system behavior resulting from the pH sensitivity of both the gel and the dye are shown. The thermocollapse of gels incubated in aqueous solutions of alcian blue is studied. It is shown that the transition temperature of N-vinylcaprolactam–sodium methacrylate copolymer gel to the collapsed state decreases with the dye absorption. The temperature-induced collapse of homopolymer gels in dye solutions is reversible, while the copolymer gel mass restores incompletely during the return temperature decrease. The dye absorption by the copolymer gel leads to decreased hysteresis.     

Water-soluble copolymers. XII. Copolymers of acrylamide with sodium-3-acrylamido-3-methylbutanoate: Synthesis and characterization

The copolymerization of acrylamide (AM) with sodium-3-acrylamido-3-methylbutanoate (NaAMB) has been studied. The value of r₁r₂ has been determined to be 0.56 for the AM–NaAMB pair. The molecular weights of the copolymers were relatively unaffected by monomer feed ratios. The copolymer microstructures, including run numbers and sequence distributions, were calculated from the reactivity ratios. The solution properties of the AM–NaAMB copolymers, as well as the NaAMB homopolymer, will be reported in a subsequent paper.     

Synthesis and characterization of thermally reversible macroporous poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) hydrogels

Macroporous hydrogels are characterized by large pore sizes, high pore volumes, and high specific surface area. Besides these characteristics, macroporous hydrogels based on thermally reversible polymers respond to temperature changes much faster than hydrogels prepared by a conventional method. Crosslinked poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (polyNIPAAm) forms a thermally reversible hydrogel which shows a lower critical solution temperature (LCST) ca. 33°C in aqueous solutions. We have synthesized thermally reversible polyNIPAAm hydrogels having macroporous structures by a new method. These macroporous hydrogels have large pore volumes, large average pore sizes, and faster macromolecule permeation rates in comparison to conventional polyNIPAAm hydrogels synthesized by a conventional method. Compared with conventional polyNIPAAm hydrogels, the macroporous polyNIPAAm hydrogels have higher swelling ratios at temperatures below the LCST and exhibit faster deswelling and reswelling rates. The deswelling rates are especially rapid. These thermally reversible macroporous hydrogels may be very useful in controlled active agent delivery and toxin removal, as well as dewatering of solutions. Peptides or proteins may behave as if they were in bulk solution within the large aqueous pores, and this may reduce their inactivation when such gels are used for their storage and later release. The gels may also be useful in microrobotic devices due to their fast response to temperature. © 1992 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Novel Method of Producing Polymer Gels in Aqueous Solution Using UV Irradiation

Summary: We developed a novel method of producing polymer gels in aqueous solution using UV irradiation. Persulfates were effective photosensitive initiators of polymerization and/or gelation of acryloyl‐type monomers/polymers. The gelation was confirmed by an abrupt increase in light scattering intensity, 〈I(q)〉_T, at the gelation point. The gelation method entails significant advantages: it does not need any cross‐linkers, temperature control (heating), and additives except the persulfate.

The UV irradiation time dependence of light scattering intensity, 〈I(q)〉_T, for pre‐gel solutions containing N‐isopropylacrylamide (NIPAm) and/or ammonium persulfate (APS).     

Copolymerization of cationic monomers with acrylamide in an aqueous solution

The radical copolymerizations of commercially available cationic monomers (M₁) with acrylamide (M₂) have been investigated at pH 6.1 in aqueous solutions. The cationic groups in copolymers were analyzed by a colloid titration method and the reactivity ratios were determined by the Fineman–Ross method. The values of r₁ and r₂ were 1.71 and 0.25 for methacryloyloxyethyltrimethylammonium chloride? M₂, 1.68 and 1.26 for N,N-dimethylaminoethylmethacrylate? M₂, 1.13 and 0.57 for methacrylamidopropyltrimethylammonium chloride? M₂, 1.10 and 0.47 for N,N-dimethylaminopropylmethacrylate? M₂, 0.47 and 0.95 for N,N-dimethylaminopropylacrylamide? M₂, 0.48 and 0.64 for acryloyloxyethyltrimethylammonium chloride-M₂, and 0.58 and 6.7 for dimethyldiallylammonium chloride-M₂ systems. The Alfrey-Price Q and e values were calculated and the linear relationship between log Q and ultraviolet absorption maxima of cationic monomers was found.     

Thermoreversible polyaniline gels

Polyaniline (PANI) forms thermoreversible gels in different sulphonic acids e.g. dinonyl napthalene sulphonic acid (DNNSA), dinonylnapthalene disulphonic acid (DNNDSA), ± camphor ‐ 10 ‐ sulphonic acid (CSA) and dodecyl sulphonic acid (DSA) when processed from the formic acid medium. The surfactant concentration has been varied from weight fraction of PANI (W_PANI)=0.05−0.60. In most cases at W_PANI=0.05−0.40 compositions fibrillar network structures are observed from SEM study. They also exhibit reversible first order phase transition during both heating and cooling in DSC. The melting temperature and the gelation temperature increases with increase in surfactant concentration of the gel. From the WAXS pattern it is concluded that crystallization of the surfactant tails anchored from the nitrogen atom of PANI through its SO₃ H head group is responsible for gelation. The conductivity of all the gels with increase in PANI concentration showed a maximum with composition. The maximum conductivity is ∼0.01 S/cm, for W_PANI=0.22. The conductivity variation has been explained by considering it as a function of both interchain and intrachain contributions.     

Photochromism of 4-acryloxyazobenzene/(−)-menthyl acrylate copolymers

Copolymers of trans-4-acryloxyazobenzene ( AAB ) with (?)-menthyl acrylate ( MtA ) have been prepared by free radical initiation; comonomer reactivity ratios have been found to be r _AAB = 0.89 and r _MtA = 0.53. Dependence of chiroptical properties on copolymer composition has been investigated and contribution to circular dichroism by azobenzene chromophores of isolated and sequence AAB units, as well as the influence of the trans to cis photoisomerization, have been determined. Kinetics of photoinduced trans → cis and thermally induced cis → trans isomerization of azobenzene side chains have also been examined and the kinetic parameters evaluated with relation to copolymer structure. The results have been discussed in terms of light-induced secondary structure reversible modifications.     

Copolymerization of N-Vinylcarbazole and Vinyl Acetate via Reversible Addition-Fragmentation Chain Transfer (RAFT) Polymerization

Summary: The reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) random copolymerization of N-vinylcarbazole (NVC) and vinyl acetate (VAc) was carried out using s-benzyl-o-ethyl dithiocarbonate (BED) as the chain transfer agent and 2,2′-azoisobutyronitrile (AIBN) as the initiator in 1,4-dioxane solution at 70 °C. The polymerization showed the characteristics of ‘living’ free radical polymerization behaviors: first order kinetics, linear relationships between molecular weight and conversion, and narrow polydispersity of the polymers. The reactivity ratios of NVC and VAc were calculated via the Kelen–Tudos (KT) and non-linear error in variable (EVM) methods and showed as r₁ = 1.938 ± 0.191, r₂ = 0.116 ± 0.106. The thermal behavior of the copolymers with different content of NVC and VAc was investigated by DSC and TGA. The results showed that the introduction of a VAc segment into copolymer significantly reduced the T_g of the NVC homopolymers. FT-IR spectra, fluorescence spectra, and cyclic voltammetric behavior of these copolymers were also measured and compared with those of NVC homopolymers. The copolymers showed similar oxidative behavior to the NVC homopolymer. However, there was only one reductive potential peak shown for the copolymers at about 0.058 V.     

Fluorine-containing poly(vinyl alcohol): A helix or a random coil

Substitution of several mole per cent of the hydroxyl groups of poly(vinyl alcohol) by fluorine results in marked changes in polymer properties. These fluoro poly(vinyl alcohols) (PVAF) form thermally reversible gels in water at low polymer concentrations. In solution, a helical conformation or a random coil containing helical sequences is more in accord with the experimental observations than the random coil structure of poly(vinyl alcohol). This helical hypothesis is supported by high heats of crosslinking of the aqueous thermally reversible gels, the difficult solubility of PVAF in H₂O, the insolubility of the PVAF–iodine complex under conditions where the PVA–iodine complex remains soluble, the temperature-independent high value for the Huggins k ′ slope constant, the greater stability of the PVAF–iodine complex, the shear dependence of the solution viscosity and our inability to form thermally reversible gels by the introduction of fluorine into other water-soluble polymers which are capable of hydrogen bond formation. Infrared dichroism and deuteration measurements do not differentiate between PVA and PVAF. If this conclusion is correct, PVAF is the first vinyl polymer of which we are aware that maintains a helical conformation in solution.     

DSC Study of the Postdenaturated Structures in Biopolymer–water Systems

The temperature dependences of heat capacity for water–denaturated biopolymer (globular proteins, collagen and DNA) were measured in a wide range of temperatures (0–140°C) and water content of the systems. It has been shown that thermally denaturated globular proteins (lysozyme, myoglobin and catalase) are able to form the thermoreversible heat-set structures under the certain conditions studied. The additional endothermal maximum observed is the calorimetric manifestation of the phase transition related to the melting of these thermotropic non-native structures. The melting gels are completely formed just after denaturation during relatively short time and only their prolonged state at T>T _d leads to their transformation to thermoirreversible non-melting ones. The post denaturated structures from water-denaturated protein (Mb, Lys and RN-ase) systems with a different amount of free water were also studied. The thermoreversible cold-set gels are formed from both water-denaturated DNA and water-denaturated collagen systems. These thermotropic structures are metastable. A spatial gel network of both collagen and DNA is formed from the native-like renaturated structures. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

A detailed analysis of the properties of radiolyzed proteinaceous amino acids

The thermal behaviour of 21 proteinaceous l-amino acids either as pristine samples and also as radiolyzed (3.2 MGy) samples was studied with the differential scanning calorimeter. The onset and peak melting point as well as the melting enthalpy of all samples before and after the radiation treatment was measured and reported. The residual amount of each amino acid survived to the radiation dose of 3.2 MGy (N _γ) was measured from the melting enthalpies before and after radiolysis and hence the radiation resistance of each amino acid has been determined. The radiolysis causes a systematic reduction of the melting enthalpy and a shift of the onset and peak melting point to lower values. It is shown that N _γ does not correlate with the melting points of the amino acids but shows a correlation with the entity of the shift of the melting point peaks occurred after radiolysis. Such correlation instead does not exist between the N _γ parameter and the onset melting points of the amino acids. An explanation of such lack of correlation was given. Furthermore, a general relationship has been found between the amino acids melting point peak measured on pristine samples and the melting point peaks after solid state radiolysis. Such relationship can be used to predict roughly the expected melting point after radiolysis at 3.2 MGy of any given amino acid. The last part of the study was dedicated in the attempt to find a correlation between the N _γ parameter and the amount of the amino acids survived the radiolysis R _γ as measured by spectropolarimetry (ORD spectroscopy). A general trend was found in the connection between the N _γ and R _γ parameters but not a very strong correlation.     

Metal–Organic Gels from Silver Nanoclusters with Aggregation-Induced Emission and Fluorescence-to-Phosphorescence Switching

Luminescent metal nanoclusters (NCs) are emerging as a new class of functional materials that have rich physicochemical properties and wide potential applications. In recent years, it has been found that some metal NCs undergo aggregation-induced emission (AIE) and an interesting fluorescence-to-phosphorescence (F-P) switching in solutions. However, insights of both the AIE and the F-P switching remain largely unknown. Now, gelation of water soluble, atomically precise Ag₉ NCs is achieved by the addition of antisolvent. Self-assembly of Ag₉ NCs into entangled fibers was confirmed, during which AIE was observed together with an F-P switching occurring within a narrow time scale. Structural evaluation indicates the fibers are highly ordered. The self-assembly of Ag₉ NCs and their photoluminescent property are thermally reversible, making the metal–organic gels good candidates for luminescent ratiometric thermometers.     

Rheological and thermal properties of agarose aqueous solutions and hydrogels

In this article, we report on the rheological properties of agarose aqueous solutions and gels. Viscosity curves were determined for homogeneous agarose aqueous solutions at different temperatures (from 68 to 38 °C) to study the viscosity behavior as the systems undergo gelation. The gelation phenomenon of agarose solutions was also investigated by shear oscillation experiments and differential scanning calorimetry. The gelation and melting temperature as a function of agarose concentration were determined together with the gelation and melting enthalpies. The results obtained were interpreted using the two‐step model describing the gelation of agarose in water. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 46: 322–328, 2008     

Synthesis and thermal properties of a novel lactose‐containing poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide‐co‐acrylamidolactamine) hydrogel

An improved, simple, and efficient method for the synthesis of lactose‐containing monomer acrylamidolactamine (LAM) has been reported. Free radical copolymerization of this monomer with N‐isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) in the presence of the crosslinking reagent N,N′‐methylenebisacrylamide (BisA) (1.2 mol %) proceeded smoothly in an aqueous solution using potassium persulfate (KPS) and N,N,N′,N′‐tetramethylethylenediamine (TMEDA) as the initiating system and gave transparent hydrogels. Reactivity ratios were estimated from copolymerization reactions carried out in solution without BisA crosslinker and at low conversion, by using both linearization and nonlinearization methods. They were found to be r_LAM = 0.75 and r_NIPAM = 1.22. The swelling behavior of the hydrogels was studied by immersion of the hydrogels in deionized water at different temperatures. Equilibrium water uptake was increased when the LAM content was higher than 47 mol %, and reached ≈ 44‐fold with 100 mol % LAM at room temperature. Depending on the composition, the gels showed sharp swelling transitions with small changes in temperature. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was used to characterize the swelling transition and the organization of water in the copolymer hydrogels. The amounts of freezable water in these hydrogels ranged from 81 to 89%, and was not correlated to the content of the sugar monomer. These gels have potential applications as biocompatible materials. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 37: 1393–1402, 1999