Crosslinking dynamics and gelation characteristics of photo- and thermally polymerized poly(ethylene glycol) hydrogels

Jungmoon Sung, Dong Geun Lee, Sukchin Lee, Junyoung Park, Hyun Wook Jung

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    15 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    The crosslinking behaviors and gelation features of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) hydrogels were scrutinized during the UV and thermal polymerizations of mixtures of poly(ethylene glycol) methacrylate (PEGMA, monomer) and poly(ethylene glycol) dimethacrylates (PEGDMAs, crosslinkers). The real-time crosslinking behavior of the PEG hydrogels was quantified as a function of the UV irradiation time and reaction temperature during the UV and thermal polymerization, respectively, using real-time FT-IR spectrometry and rotational rheometry. The gelation characteristics of UV- and thermally crosslinked hydrogels were compared through the analysis of the gel fraction, swelling ratio, surface hardness, and the loading and release of rhodamine-B. The gelation properties of the cured hydrogel films were suitably correlated with the real-time rheological properties and crosslinked network state of the PEG mixtures. The crosslinking and gelation properties of the cured hydrogels could be optimally tuned by not only the molecular weight of the crosslinker but also the UV or thermal polymerization conditions.

    Original languageEnglish
    Article number3277
    JournalMaterials
    Volume13
    Issue number15
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2020

    Bibliographical note

    Funding Information:
    Funding: This research was funded by the Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy (MOTIE, Korea) under the Industrial Technology Innovation Program (no. 10067082 and no. 20004044).

    Publisher Copyright:
    © 2020 by the authors.

    Keywords

    • Gelation properties
    • PEG hydrogel
    • Real-time FT-IR
    • Rheological properties
    • UV and thermal crosslinking

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • General Materials Science
    • Condensed Matter Physics

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