2026/03/19 by Christine M. Papadakis, Eric Rende, Feifei Zheng +10 · 1 voice
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Chemistry · Materials Science · #Advanced Physical and Chemical Molecular Interactions #Block Copolymer Self-Assembly #Hydrogels: synthesis, properties, applications
paper · pdf · doi:10.1021/acs.macromol.5c03241
openalex publication_date 2026/03/19 · openalex created_date 2026/03/20 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/03
High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide Perdeuterated poly( N -isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM-d10) is synthesized by free radical polymerization and characterized by 2 H NMR, Fourier-transform infrared, and Raman spectroscopy. A concentrated solution of this polymer in H 2 O is investigated with respect to the dynamics of the hydration and bulk water using quasi-elastic neutron scattering. Due to the exchange of the protons in the polymer with deuterons, the incoherent neutron scattering from the polymer is suppressed, offsetting apart the hydration water. Deuteration causes a remarkable upward shift of the cloud point temperature by 4 °C. It is found that, when heating through the cloud point, the fraction of hydration water decreases abruptly. The relaxation time of the hydration water is consistently lower than the one observed previously for PNIPAM in H 2 O. Raman spectroscopy of the CD bands across the demixing transition shows a frequency shift consistent with polymer dehydration.