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Influence of Laponite RD on the properties of poly(vinyl alcohol) hydrogels
Author(s) -
Morariu Simona,
Bercea Maria,
Brunchi CristinaEliza
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/app.46661
Subject(s) - vinyl alcohol , glutaraldehyde , self healing hydrogels , materials science , swelling , fourier transform infrared spectroscopy , chemical engineering , polymer chemistry , composite material , chemistry , polymer , organic chemistry , engineering
Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) hydrogels were prepared in the presence/absence of Laponite RD (LRD) by using glutaraldehyde (GL) as chemical crosslinker. The effect of GL concentration (CHO/OH ratio between 0.02 and 0.38) and of clay addition on the PVA hydrogel properties was investigated. The swollen hydrogels showed good transparency and flexibility. LRD incorporation into the PVA hydrogel, revealed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, led to a significant increase of the roughness of the dried hydrogel surface (about two times), as established by atomic force microscopy. The swelling ability was affected in a small extent by the clay addition. The elastic modulus decreased from 4680 to 3340 Pa and from 2195 to 1603 Pa by addition of 0.5% LRD into PVA hydrogels obtained with CHO/OH ratio of 0.02 and 0.06, respectively. The LRD addition reduced the gelation time determined by in situ rheological monitoring of PVA crosslinking reaction. The experimental investigations showed that there is an optimum CHO/OH ratio of 0.02 for which the PVA/LRD hybrid hydrogel presents the properties required by a targeted application, as for example support material for wound dressings. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018 , 135 , 46661.