Temperature- and time-dependent evolution of hydrogel network formed by thermoresponsive BCACB pentablock terpolymers: effect of composition
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Wang, Shaobai
Georgiou, Theoni K
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Three thermoresponsive BCACB pentablock terpolymers, in which A, B, and C blocks were composed of hydrophilic oligo (ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate (average molar mass = 300 g/mol, OEGMA300), hydrophobic n-butyl methacrylate (BuMA), and less-hydrophilic di(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate (DEGMA), respectively, were synthesised via one-pot group transfer polymerisation (GTP) with varied chemical compositions. In addition to the thermoresponsive behaviour, a time-dependent evolution was also observed in both microscopic structure and macroscopic performance of the thermo-induced hydrogels formed by these terpolymers. Combined analysis using time-resolved small angle X-ray scattering (TR-SAXS) and rheometry reveals that achieving a balanced ratio of hydrophobic and hydrophilic content is critical for configuring hydrogel networks with optimal performance and stability. Specifically, an excessive hydrophobic content leads to a gradual loss of network storage modulus (G′) over time, while an overwhelming hydrophilic content diminishes the formation of stable elastic-active intermicellar correlations, resulting in the lowest G’.
Date Issued
2025-05-23
Date Acceptance
2025-04-18
Citation
Polymer, 2025, 328
ISSN
0032-3861
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Journal / Book Title
Polymer
Volume
328
Copyright Statement
© 2025 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
License URL
Identifier
10.1016/j.polymer.2025.128426
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
128426
Date Publish Online
2025-04-21