The influence of monomer/solvent feed ratio on POEGDMA thermoresponsive hydrogels: Radiation-induced synthesis, swelling properties and VPTT

The oligo(ethylene glycol) dimethacrylate (OEGDMA), one of the most commonly utilized crosslinking monomers, was used to tailor thermoresponsive POEGDMA hydrogels by varying the monomer/solvent feed ratio (from 10 to 100 wt% of monomer). For the first time, synthesis of different POEGDMA homopolymeric networks was performed by gamma radiation, and due to the expected thermoresponsiveness their temperature-dependent properties were extensively analysed. The sol-gel study was performed as the first step after radiation-induced synthesis. The swelling properties were investigated over the wide pH (2.2–9.0) and temperature (5–80 °C) range. Characterization of structure and properties was additionally conducted by SEM, DSC, FTIR, and UV–Vis spectroscopy. The results indicated that all POEGDMA hydrogels showed a high gel content, inverse thermoresponse and volume phase transition temperature (VPTT) with no respect to initial preparation. On the other hand, by altering the monomer/solvent ratio in the prepolymerisation mixture a large diversity in the microstructure, swelling capacity and VPTT was obtained. © 2019 Elsevier Ltd This is the peer-reviewed version of the following article: Suljovrujic, Edin, Zorana Rogic Miladinovic, Maja Micic, Denis Suljovrujic, and Dejan Milicevic. "The influence of monomer/solvent feed ratio on POEGDMA thermoresponsive hydrogels: Radiation-induced synthesis, swelling properties and VPTT." Radiation Physics and Chemistry 158 (2019): 37-45. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.radphyschem.2018.12.034] Published version available at: [http://vinar.vin.bg.ac.rs/handle/123456789/8048]