Valve based on novel hydrogels: From synthesis to application

M. R. ROMERO; R. DARIO ARRUA; EMILY HILDER; ÁLVAREZ IGARZABAL, CECILIA I.

ELSEVIER SCIENCE SA

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2013 vol. 188 p. 176 - 176

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 itaconicacid (ITA) as monomers and (+)N,N-diallyltartradiamide (DAT) as crosslinker. The hydrogels NAT ITAwere 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 N by h). The gel strength increased 0.5 N in a half hour, while the volumeincreased 4 times when passed from an acid medium to a basic medium. This hydrogel was chosen toprepare a pH-sensitive valve to control the flux in a capillary tube. The valve was tested using a systemto control the formation of Fe3+EDTA complex. The response time was 3 and 15 min to open and cl