Valve based on novel hydrogels: From synthesis to application

EMILY HILDER

SENSORS AND ACTUATORS B-CHEMICAL

ELSEVIER SCIENCE SA

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2013

0925-4005

ew hydrogels as materials with potential application in the area of actuators have been developed. Hydrogel synthesis was performed using tris[(hydroxymethyl) methyl]acrylamide (NAT) and itaconic acid (ITA) as monomers and (+)N,N´ diallyltartradiamide (DAT) as crosslinker. The hydrogels NAT-ITA were prepared using different molar fraction of monomers and characterized by FTIR-ATR, rheology, swelling properties and mechanical force. The hydrogel prepared with 80 and 20% of NAT and ITA, respectively, has the lowest equilibrium swelling ratio (ESR=16) in water but the highest elastic modulus (10±1 kPa) and strength (2.2± 0.1 Nh-1). The gel strength increased 0.5 N in a half hour, while the volume increased 4 times when passed from an acid medium to a basic medium. This hydrogel was chosen to prepare a Ph sensitive valve to control the flux in a capillary tube. The valve was tested using a system to control the formation of Fe3+-EDTA complex. The response time was 3 and 15 min to open and