Controlling the Friction of Gels by Regulating Interfacial Oxygen During Polymerization
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Date
2021-09
Publication Type
Journal Article
ETH Bibliography
yes
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Abstract
Hydrogel surfaces are of great interest in applications ranging from cell scaffolds and transdermal drug-delivery patches to catheter coatings and contact lenses. In this work, we propose a method to control the surface structure of hydrogels, thereby tailoring their frictional properties. The method is based on oxygen inhibition of the free-radical polymerization reaction during synthesis and enables (i) control of friction over more than an order in magnitude and (ii) spatial control of friction as either a continuous gradient or a distinct pattern. The presented method has successfully been applied to acrylamide-, diacrylate- and methacrylate-based gels, illustrating the universality of the presented method, and its potential use in the above-mentioned applications.
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published
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Book title
Journal / series
Volume
69 (3)
Pages / Article No.
86
Publisher
Springer
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Edition / version
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Date collected
Date created
Subject
Hydrogels; Friction; Tribology; Surfaces; Free-radical polymerization; Oxygen
Organisational unit
03389 - Spencer, Nicholas (emeritus) / Spencer, Nicholas (emeritus)
Notes
Funding
669562 - Polymer Analogs to Biolubrication Systems: Novel materials for exploring cartilage tribology and exploiting its mechanisms (EC)