Using Plasma Etching to Access the Polymer Density Distribution and Diffusivity of Gel Particles

In this paper we examine the polymer density distribution of gel particles and its effect on solvent diffusivity through the polymer network. In order to access the inner particle regions, external polymer layers were removed by plasma etching, thus reducing them from the outside. Higher polymer den...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inPolymers Vol. 13; no. 15; p. 2537
Main Authors Suarez, Ivan J, Sierra-Martin, Benjamin, Fernandez-Barbero, Antonio
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Switzerland MDPI AG 31.07.2021
MDPI
Subjects
Approximation
Density distribution
diffusion
Diffusion coefficient
Diffusivity
Equilibrium
Heterogeneity
Hydrogels
Microscopy
minigel
Morphology
Oxidation
Particle decay
Plasma etching
pNIPAM
polymer density
Polymer solubility
Polymers
Solvents
diffusion
polymer density
minigel
pNIPAM
plasma etching
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Summary:In this paper we examine the polymer density distribution of gel particles and its effect on solvent diffusivity through the polymer network. In order to access the inner particle regions, external polymer layers were removed by plasma etching, thus reducing them from the outside. Higher polymer densities after erosion showed internal heterogeneity, with the density increasing towards the center of the particles. An exponential decay polymer density model is proposed, and the spatial relaxation length measured. The diffusion of solvent through the particles, before and after the plasma oxidation, revealed a correlation between the diffusion coefficient and the internal density.
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ISSN:2073-4360
2073-4360
DOI:10.3390/polym13152537