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Rheological properties of homogeneous and heterogeneous poly(2‐hydroxyethyl methacrylate) hydrogels
Author(s) -
Karpushkin Evgeny,
DuškováSmrčková Miroslava,
Remmler Torsten,
Lapčíková Monika,
Dušek Karel
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
polymer international
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.592
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1097-0126
pISSN - 0959-8103
DOI - 10.1002/pi.3194
Subject(s) - self healing hydrogels , rheology , materials science , methacrylate , swelling , copolymer , chemical engineering , shear modulus , porosity , homogeneous , polymer chemistry , scanning electron microscope , dynamic mechanical analysis , composite material , polymer , physics , engineering , thermodynamics
The swelling and rheological behaviour of hydrogels of morphology varying from non‐porous to highly porous was investigated. The hydrogels were prepared by redox free radical copolymerization of 2‐hydroxyethyl methacrylate with 0.1 to 5 mol% of di(ethylene glycol) dimethacrylate in the presence of water varying from 40 to 80 wt%. Various compositions led to clear, turbid or macroporous gels. The morphology of the gels was characterized using optical microscopy and cryoscan electron microscopy. The oscillatory shear and creep of swollen gels revealed that there was a pronounced difference between homogeneous or microheterogeneous and macroporous gels with communicating pores. The achievement of optimum conditions for the correct determination of shear modulus was also analysed. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry