Ionic Polymer Gels Properties

To overcome difficulties in polyelectrolytes, such as electrochemical consumption on the electrodes, we investigated the electroactive properties of the non-ionic polymer gel. 

Such a remarkable swift bending or crawling of a non-ionic polymer gel cannot be explained by osmotic pressure gradient, which is usually considered to be the reason for electrically induced bending in polyelectrolyte gel. As pointed out in the previous section, the solvent flow was suggested in the gel. We investigated the effect of an electric field on its flowing property. ... 

Gennes P-J (eds) Physical properties of polymeric gels. Wiley, Chichester, pp 19-38 Shahinpoor M (1994) Continuum electromechanics of ionic polymer gels as artificial muscles for robotic applications. Smart Mater Struct 3 367-372 Shiga T, Kurauchi T (1990) Deformation of polyelectrolyte gels under the influence of electric field. J Appl Polym Sci 39 2305-2320... 

The fundamental property at work is the interaction of water and polymer, hi the Kuhn experiments, the acrylic acid functioned as the contractile unit. A change in pH or ionic strength will either hydrate or dehydrate a gel. This affects the size of the molecule, which in turn causes the molecule to contract or expand. This phenomenon is most pronounced in ionic polymers. 

The polyelectrolyte microgels have been established as model soft spheres as, in addition to the above features, their softness and properties can be tuned by altering the physico-chemical environment (pH, ionic strength, degree of ionization) [152-160], The response varies from that of colloidal (polydisperse hard-sphere) suspensions and that of polymer gels and in this respect such microgels fit within the theme of Fig. 1 [157-160],... 

All these observations supported the operational interaction in the present packings which were prepared by immobilization of CD derivatives on the hydrophilic polymer gel. Especially in the case of Z-Ala and MA, as they have both phenyl and carboxylic groups, a stable complex can be formed by the double forces through the hydrophobic and ionic interactions. This caused the high retention power. It may be concluded that the present amino-CD gel and amino-methyl-CD gel indicated both hydrophobic and ionic interactions, and it showed novel and unique adsorbent properties for practical HPLC use. 

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