Robust and Elastic Thermoresponsive Hydrogels with High Swelling Properties for Efficient Solar Water Purification

Abstract

A viable and long-term method for producing clean water at hydrogel interfaces is solar-driven evaporation. This research utilizes the microgel polymerization technique to fabricate DCS-PNIPAm gels that exhibit exceptional swelling capacity and mechanical qualities. Electrostatic forces and hydrogen bonds between molecules occur between the sulfonic acid anions and ammonium cations inside the P(NIPAm-co-DMAPS) chains. Alginate is characterized by a high content of carboxyl and hydroxyl groups, which facilitate the establishment of hydrogen bonding and electrostatic interactions within the P(NIPAm-co-DMAPS) system. Semi-interpenetrating networks are formed in the hydrogel as a result of physical and chemical cross-linking brought on by these interactions. Consequently, the hydrogel's mechanical characteristics and swelling capacity were significantly enhanced, and the water-collecting rate of DCS-PNIPAm reached up to 9.32 kg m −2 h −1 under one sun irradiation. Notably, the sodium alginate (SA) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) layer of the DCS-PNIPAm gel has excellent filtration properties, which can make it possible to use sunlight to purify water from various contaminated water sources containing dyes, oils, and metals.

Utilizing Silk Sericin as a Biomaterial for Drug Encapsulation in a Hydrogel Matrix with Polycaprolactone: Formulation and Evaluation of Antibacterial Activity

“…At predetermined time intervals, pouches were removed, excess water and buffer solutions were wiped with filter paper, and then the weight of hydrogel-containing pouches was taken. The swelling percentage was calculated using the following equation: swelling ( % ) = W s − W d W normald × 100 where W d is the weight of dry gel and W s is the weight of swollen gel. This procedure was repeated for triplicate samples.…”