通过乳液聚合方法制备了单分散的具有温度敏感性的聚(N-异丙基丙烯酰胺)(PNIPAM)微凝胶。然后分别采用冰箱冷冻和液氮冷冻的方法对1wt%浓度的PNIPAM微凝胶水分散液进行冷冻,结果发现只有在液氮冷冻形成的冰晶体模板中PNIPAM微凝胶自组装形成了纤维。用场发射扫描电镜在低加速电压下观察到纤维由PNIPAM微凝胶按六边形有序堆砌形成。纤维直径随着PNIPAM微凝胶粒径的减小而减小,随着微凝胶分散液浓度的升高而增加。
Monodisperse temperature-sensitive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) microgels were prepared by emulsion polymerization. The aqueous PNIPAM microgel dispersion of 1 wt. % concentration was frozen by refrigeratory and liquid nitrogen, respectively. The results showed that the fibers were produced by self-assembly of PNIPAM microgels only in the ice crystal template formed by liquid nitrogen freezing. Field emission scanning electron microscopy images obtained under low accelerate voltage indicated that the fibers are composed of hexagonally packed PNIPAM microgels. The fiber diameter was lowered with the decrease of the particle size of PNIPAM microgels, and increased with the increase of the microgel dispersion concentration.