Amphiphilic Polymer Co-networks: Synthesis, Properties, Modelling and Applications
CHAPTER 8: Bimodal Amphiphilic Polymer Co-networks: Interfacial Phenomena and Applications
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Published:23 Apr 2020
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Special Collection: 2020 ebook collectionSeries: Polymer Chemistry Series
G. Guzman, T. Nugay, and M. Cakmak, in Amphiphilic Polymer Co-networks: Synthesis, Properties, Modelling and Applications, ed. C. S. Patrickios, The Royal Society of Chemistry, 2020, pp. 156-198.
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This chapter introduces amphiphilic polymer co-networks (APCN) comprising conventional components but with a novel design. The novelty in the design lies on the use of two populations of the hydrophobic component, poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS), one with a lower (17 kDa) and the other with a higher (117 kDa) molecular weight. The latter PDMS component greatly enhances the mechanical properties of the co-networks, whereas both PDMS components control the other co-network properties. The co-network hydrophilic component is N,N-dimethylacrylamide (DMAAm), whereas the crosslinker is polyhydroxysiloxane-co-PDMS. The swelling and mechanical properties of these bimodal APCNs (β-APCN) will be presented. Furthermore, their bulk and surface morphologies will be reported, including real-time structural evolution during drying. Finally, the chapter explores the application of β-APCN films as soft contact lenses capable of releasing an antibiotic drug with zero-order kinetics.