Document Type
Article
Version Deposited
Published Version
Publication Date
11-23-2017
Publication Title
RSC Advances
DOI
10.1039/D1MA01183A
Abstract
This study elucidates the influences of adding covalent cross-linking on the nanomechanical viscoelasticity of ionically cross-linked polyelectrolyte networks. Using layer-by-layer (LbL) assembled PAH/PAA networks, we report how adding covalent amide cross-links changes the degree of swelling, indentation modulus, and force relaxation behaviors with varying solution conditions such as pH and ionic strength, which modulate the ionic cross-link density and fixed charge density. The addition of covalent cross-linking increases both the modulus and degree of elasticity through providing permanent anchorage to the ionically linked networks. Such addition also strongly increases the relaxation times at net neutral, less swollen states. These results together underscore the synergistic interplay between the covalent and ionic cross-links in the viscoelastic nanomechanics of polyelectrolyte networks, potentially enabling the use of these stimulus-responsive materials in mechano-sensitive biomedical and engineering applications.
Recommended Citation
B. Han, T. Ma, J.H. Vergara, G.R. Palmese, J. Yin, D. Lee, & L. Han. Non-additive impacts of covalent cross-linking on the viscoelastic nanomechanics of ionic polyelectrolyte complexes. RSC Advances 2017, 84(7), 53334-53345.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 License
Comments
This article is published by RSC with a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.