Issue 76, 2015

A facile CO2 switchable nanocomposite with reversible transition from sol to self-healable hydrogel

Abstract

In this paper, we report a CO2/N2-switchable sol to gel transition system based on a triblock copolymer of dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate (DMAEMA) and ethylene oxide (EO), with a measured composition DMAEMA6–EO109–DMAEMA6, in aqueous nanoclay dispersions. LAPONITE® is exfoliated and stabilized by Pluronic F127. The aqueous mixture exhibits a strong response to CO2, changing from a low viscous sol to a self-healable gel. In the presence of CO2, the PDMAEMA blocks are protonated and the positive charged triblock copolymer bridge the negative charged nanoclays, formation of a physical network. As a consequence, a sol to gel transition is observed at the macro level. Upon removal of CO2 through bubbling with N2, a corresponding gel to sol transition occurs due to the deconstruction of the physical network, which is a result of the departure of the deprotonated PDMAEMA blocks from the nanoclays. This sol to gel transition is fully reversible. Furthermore, the formed gel possesses excellent self-healing ability, meaning that this hydrogel is capable of autonomous healing upon damage. Thus, we believe the fundamentals of the present CO2-responsive smart hydrogel may hold promise for a wide range of areas, such as intelligent delivery systems and smart biomaterial fields, or a potential CO2 plugging agent for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) performed by CO2 flooding.

Graphical abstract: A facile CO2 switchable nanocomposite with reversible transition from sol to self-healable hydrogel

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
04 Jun 2015
Accepted
13 Jul 2015
First published
13 Jul 2015

RSC Adv., 2015,5, 62229-62234

Author version available

A facile CO2 switchable nanocomposite with reversible transition from sol to self-healable hydrogel

L. Zhang, J. Qian, Y. Fan, W. Feng, Z. Tao and H. Yang, RSC Adv., 2015, 5, 62229 DOI: 10.1039/C5RA10597H

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