Static and time-dependent properties of polymer gels around the volume phase transition

Recent progress in the study of the volume phase transition of polymer gels is reviewed. The phenomenological theories of swelling equilibrium and phase transition of gels are summarized, and some basic experimental results on poly-N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPA) gels are compared with the prediction from these theories. Special attention is paid to the elastic properties of the gel network near the volume phase transition. The effect of external stresses on the swelling and the phase transition is analyzed. Some anomalous and unique characteristics revealed in NIPA gels such as shape- and size-dependent swelling and phase transition properties, curious phase coexistence, and domain structure are presented. Experimental results on some time-dependent phenomena such as phase separation, spinodal decomposition, and pattern formation are also presented and discussed. Some problems inherent to gels from biological bodies are briefly discussed.