ABSTRACT:Changes in the micro-environments and interactions among the side groups during pH-induced volume phase transition of poly(acrylamide) gels having pyrenyl group as a fluorescent probe in acetone-water (9: 11) mixed solvent were studied with fluorescence spectra and lifetime measurements. The results are as follows: (a) The volume phase transition is caused by hydrophobic interaction of polymer main chains and charge repulsive force of carboxylate anion at polymer side chains inside the gel, indicated by change in fluorescence intensity ratio Ii/ 13 of the pyrenyl probe and the shifts in fluorescence wavelength. (b) In the collapsed state, the gel consists of two phases: one is the portion of polymer main chain aggregate, and the other is the portion of polar side group assembly, which results from a competitive interaction between the hydrophobic interaction of polymer main chains and the charge repulsive force of carboxylate anion in the coexisting two phase regime.KEY WORDS Poly(acrylamide) Gel / Volume Phase Transition / Fluorescence / Pyrenyl Group / Hydrogen Bond / Hydrophobic Interaction / Some organic polymer hydrogels have widespread applications in medical, pharmaceutical, industrial, and related fields. 1 These hydrogels made of, e.g., poly(acrylamide) (PAAm) or poly(isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPA) show volume phase transition with a reversible volume change of as large as several hundred times induced by various conditions. 1 -6 Some macroscopic properties of gels, such as mechanical 7 and thermal 8 behavior have been widely investigated during the volume phase transition. The processes of swelling and shrinking of the PAAm or PNIPA gel were measured with light scattering 9 • 10 to monitor the density fluctuation of gel networks near the volume phase transition. It has been noted recently that detailed chemical structure, conformational change, interactions among the polymer chains and between the polymer chain and solvent molecules, and micro-environments inside the gels play very inportant roles in determining the volume phase transition. Though the light scattering study reveals the microscopic structure and dynamics of gel network for the volume phase transition, 1 o, 11 NMR can also demonstrate the changes in the micro-environments and motions of the side groups and backbone polymer chains of PNIPA during the volume phase transition. 12 Fluorescence technique can give information