Related papers: Phase coexistence in thermo-responsive PNIPAM hydr…
Thermo-responsive microgel particles can exhibit a drastic volume shrinkage upon increasing the solvent temperature. Recently we found that the spreading of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)(PNiPAm) microgels at a liquid interface under the…
The long debated protein dynamical transition was recently found also in non-biological macromolecules, such as poly-N-isopropylacrylamide (PNIPAM) microgels. Here, by using atomistic molecular dynamics simulations, we report a description…
Hypotheses: Additives are commonly used to tune macromolecular conformational transitions. Among additives, trehalose is an excellent bioprotectant and among responsive polymers, PNIPAM is the most studied material. Nevertheless, their…
We investigate the co-nonsolvency of poly-N-isopropyl acrylamide (PNiPAM) in different water-alcohol mixtures and show that this phenomenon is due to two distinct solvation contributions governing the phase behavior of PNiPAM in the…
Hollow microgels, consisting of a pNIPAM polymer network with a central cavity, have significant potential due to their tunable softness and encapsulation capabilities. Using molecular dynamics simulations, we thoroughly characterise the…
Thermoresponsive polymer architectures have become integral building blocks of 'smart' functional materials in modern applications. For a large range of developments, e.g., for drug delivery or nanocatalytic carrier systems, the selective…
PNIPAm microgels synthesized via free radical polymerization (FRP) are often considered as neutral colloids in aqueous media, although it is well known, since the pioneering work of Pelton and coworkers [Langmuir 1989, 5, 816-818], that the…
A low-temperature dynamical transition has been reported in several proteins. We provide the first observation of a `protein-like' dynamical transition in nonbiological aqueous environments. To this aim we exploit the popular colloidal…
The inner structure of polymeric particles critically influences their phase behavior and functionality, governing their mechanical properties and their physical and chemical interactions. For thermoresponsive microgels, i.e. colloidal…
Microgel particles composed of Interpenetrated Polymer Networks (IPN) of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) and poly(acrylic acid) (PAAc) dispersed in water have been investigated through dynamic light scattering. The study of the…
Thermoresponsive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) particles of different sizes are synthesized by varying the concentration of sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) in a one-pot method. The sizes, size polydispersities and the…
The precise arrangement of different chemical moieties in a polymer determines its thermophysical properties. How the sequence of moieties impacts the properties of a polymer is an outstanding problem in polymer science. Herein, we address…
Stimuli-responsive lyogels are considered to be smart materials due to their capability of undergoing significant macroscopic changes in response to external triggers. Due to their versatile and unique properties, smart lyogels exhibit…
We combine small angle scattering experiments and simulations to investigate the internal structure and interactions of composite Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)-Poly(ethylene glycol) (PNIPAM-PEG) microgels. At low temperatures the…
Microgel suspensions of Interpenetrated Polymer Network (IPN) of PNIPAM and PAAc in D$_2$O, have been investigated through dynamic light scattering as a function of temperature, pH and concentration across the Volume Phase Transition (VPT).…
Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)-based microgels are soft colloids undergoing a Volume Phase Transition (VPT) close to ambient temperature. Although widely employed for fundamental research and application purposes, the modifications of the…
We investigated the complexation of thermoresponsive anionic poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNiPAM) microgels and cationic $\epsilon$-polylysine ($\epsilon$-PLL) chains. By combining electrophoresis, light scattering, transmission electron…
Heat management in devices is a key to their efficiency and longevity. Here, thermal switches (TS) are of great importance because of their ability to transition between different thermal conductivity $\kappa$ states. While traditional TS…
Stimuli-responsive lyogels are known for their ability to undergo significant macroscopic changes when exposed to external stimuli. While thermo-responsive gels, such as poly N isopropylacrylamide (pNIPAM), have been extensively studied…
We investigate the temperature dependent phase behaviour of mixtures of poly(Nisopropylacrylamide) (pNIPAM) microgel colloids and a triblock copolymer (PEO-PPO-PEO) surfactant, which undergoes micellisation. Gelation in these systems…