Microgels Deswell against Concentration and Solvent Molecular Mass

Yi-Hui Zhu; Qing-Zhi Zou; Zhan-Hui Gan; Yi-Fu Ruan; Kai Qi; Peng-Fei Zhang; Geng-Xin Liu

doi:10.1007/s10118-026-3744-0

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Microgels Deswell against Concentration and Solvent Molecular Mass

RESEARCH ARTICLE | Updated：2026-09-23

- Microgels Deswell against Concentration and Solvent Molecular Mass
  Enhanced Publication
- Chinese Journal of Polymer Science Vol. 44, Issue 10, Pages: 3323-3330(2026)
- Affiliations：
  
  a.State Key Laboratory of Advanced Fiber Materials, Center for Advanced Low-dimension Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, China
  b.2020 X-Lab, Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200050, China
  c.Center of Materials Science and Optoelectronics Engineering, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
  d.South China Advanced Institute for Soft Matter Science and Technology, School of Emergent Soft Matter & Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Functional and Intelligent Hybrid Materials and Devices, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China
- Author bio：
  
  lgx@dhu.edu.cn
- Funds：
- DOI：10.1007/s10118-026-3744-0
  CLC：
- Received：10 April 2026，
  
  Accepted：12 May 2026，
  
  Online First：10 July 2026，
  
  Published：05 October 2026
- Accepted：
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Zhu, Y. H.; Zou, Q. Z.; Gan, Z. H.; Ruan, Y. F.; Qi, K.; Zhang, P. F.; Liu, G. X. Microgels deswell against concentration and solvent molecular mass. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2026, 44, 3323–3330

Yi-Hui Zhu, Qing-Zhi Zou, Zhan-Hui Gan, et al. Microgels Deswell against Concentration and Solvent Molecular Mass[J]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2026, 44(10): 3323-3330.
Zhu, Y. H.; Zou, Q. Z.; Gan, Z. H.; Ruan, Y. F.; Qi, K.; Zhang, P. F.; Liu, G. X. Microgels deswell against concentration and solvent molecular mass. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2026, 44, 3323–3330 DOI： 10.1007/s10118-026-3744-0.

Yi-Hui Zhu, Qing-Zhi Zou, Zhan-Hui Gan, et al. Microgels Deswell against Concentration and Solvent Molecular Mass[J]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2026, 44(10): 3323-3330. DOI： 10.1007/s10118-026-3744-0.

摘要

Microgel deswelling is controlled by two coupled factors: the nanoparticle concentration and solvent molecular mass. A higher nanoparticle concentration strengthens osmotic compression

whereas a larger solvent molecular mass reduces network penetration

thereby promoting a transition from swollen to compact particle bulk states

leading to a more fragile soft colloidal glass.

Abstract

The deswelling of microgels is governed by solvent characteristics and particle concentration. Soft nanoparticles have been synthesized and dispersed in small molecular solvents or oligomeric polystyrenes. Coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations were performed to quantify particle dimensions. The linear viscoelasticity of these solutions was experimentally characterized. In good solvents

increasing the particle concentration induces deswelling because of the enhanced crowding-induced osmotic compression. Increasing the molecular mass of the solvent could also enhance deswelling by suppressing solvent penetration into the nanoparticle network. Equilibrium relations derived from the osmotic-pressure balance are developed to describe these two mechanisms and are shown to capture the simulation results. A single unified framework can describe the deswelling over a broad range of solvent masses and particle concentrations. In addition

varying the solvent mass shifts the fragility transition observed experimentally in solutions of soft nanoparticles

thereby linking deswelling to changes in the glassy dynamics. This work establishes a unified framework for understanding microgel deswelling across concentration- and solvent-controlled regimes.

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references

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