The synthesis of hydrogels with controlled distribution of polymer brushes in hydrogel network

Abstract Poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) hydrogels with 3-dimensionally controlled well-defined poly( N -isopropylacrylamide) (poly(NIPAAm)) brushes were prepared by combined copper(I)-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (“Click Chemistry”) and atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). The resulting hydrogels were presented as representatives with their detailed synthesis routes and characterization. H PEG -S-poly(NIPAAm) is a hydrogel with poly(NIPAAm) brushes mainly grafted on surface, whereas H PEG -G-poly(NIPAAm) has a gradiently decreased poly(NIPAAm) brushes in their chain length from surface to inside. On the other hand, poly(NIPAAm) brushes in H PEG -U-poly(NIPAAm) are uniformly dispersed throughout the whole hydrogel network. Successful preparation of H PEG -S-poly(NIPAAm), H PEG -G-poly(NIPAAm) and H PEG -U-poly(NIPAAm) were ascertained by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and water contact angle measurement. Optical properties and thermal behaviors of these hydrogels were evaluated by UV–visible transmittance spectra and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Hence, the flexibility and controllability of the synthetic strategy in varying the distribution of polymer brushes and hydrogel properties was demonstrated. Hydrogels with tunable and well-defined 3-dimensional poly(NIPAAm) polymer brushes could be tailor-designed to find potential applications in smart devices or skin dressing, such as for diabetics as they have special optical and thermal behaviors.