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Tunable dual-stimuli response of a microgel composite consisting of reduced graphene oxide nanoparticles and poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) hydrogel microspheres
journal contribution
posted on 2014-06-28, 00:00 authored by N Lu, J Liu, Jingliang LiJingliang Li, Z Zhang, Y Weng, B Yuan, K Yang, Y MaA type of photo- and thermo-responsive composite microsphere composed of reduced graphene oxide nanoparticles and poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (rGO@pNIPAM) is successfully fabricated by a facile solution mixing method. Due to the high optical absorbance and thermal conduction of rGO, the composite microspheres are endowed with the new property of photo-response, in addition to the intrinsic thermally sensitive property of pNIPAM. This new ability undoubtedly enlarges the scope of applications of the microgel spheres. Furthermore, through controlling the rGO content in the composite, the photo- and thermo-sensitivity of the composite can be effectively modulated. That is, with a lower rGO content (≤32% by weight), the composite microspheres perform only thermally induced changes, such as volume contraction (by ∼45% in diameter) and drug release, when crossing the lower critical solution temperature of pNIPAM. With a higher rGO content (∼47.5%), both temperature and light irradiation can trigger changes in the composite. However, when the rGO content is increased to around 64.5%, the thermo-responsivity of the composite disappears, and the spheres exhibit only photo-induced drug release. With a further increase in rGO content, the environmentally responsive ability of the microspheres vanishes. This journal is © the Partner Organisations 2014.
History
Journal
Journal of materials chemistry BVolume
2Issue
24Pagination
3791 - 3798Publisher
Royal Society of ChemistryLocation
London, Eng.Publisher DOI
ISSN
2050-7518eISSN
2050-750XLanguage
engPublication classification
C Journal article; C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journalCopyright notice
2014, Royal Society of ChemistryUsage metrics
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