Swelling, Interfacial Behavior, and Rheology of Soft Core-Shell Microgels Introducing Acid Isomer for pH-Temperature Dual-responsiveness

Li Zhang; Xin-Rui Li; Xia-Hui Xiao; Li-Dan Zhou; Yu-Wei Zhu; Jia-Yu Chen; Hang Jiang; Jie Han; Wei Liu; To Ngai

doi:10.1007/s10118-025-3310-1

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Swelling, Interfacial Behavior, and Rheology of Soft Core-Shell Microgels Introducing Acid Isomer for pH-Temperature Dual-responsiveness

RESEARCH ARTICLE | Updated：2025-07-14

- Swelling, Interfacial Behavior, and Rheology of Soft Core-Shell Microgels Introducing Acid Isomer for pH-Temperature Dual-responsiveness
- Chinese Journal of Polymer Science Vol. 43, Issue 5, Pages: 745-755(2025)
- Affiliations：
  
  a.The Key Laboratory of Synthetic and Biological Colloids, Ministry of Education & School of Chemical and Material Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
  b.Department of Chemistry, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong 999077, China
  c.School of Science and Technology, Hong Kong Metropolitan University, Homantin, Kowloon, Hong Kong 999077, China
- Author bio：
  
  weiliu@jiangnan.edu.cn (W.L.)
  tongai@cuhk.edu.hk (T.N.)
- Funds：
- DOI：10.1007/s10118-025-3310-1
  CLC：
- Received：16 December 2024，
  
  Revised：21 January 2025，
  
  Accepted：23 January 2025，
  
  Published Online：07 April 2025，
  
  Published：30 April 2025
- Accepted：
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Zhang, L.; Li, X. R.; Xiao, X. H.; Zhou, L. D.; Zhu, Y. W.; Chen, J. Y.; Jiang, H.; Han, J.; Liu, W.; Ngai, T. Swelling, interfacial behavior, and rheology of soft core-shell microgels introducing acid isomer for pH-temperature dual-responsiveness. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2025, 43, 745–755

Li Zhang, Xin-Rui Li, Xia-Hui Xiao, et al. Swelling, Interfacial Behavior, and Rheology of Soft Core-Shell Microgels Introducing Acid Isomer for pH-Temperature Dual-responsiveness[J]. Chinese journal of polymer science, 2025, 43(5): 745-755.
Zhang, L.; Li, X. R.; Xiao, X. H.; Zhou, L. D.; Zhu, Y. W.; Chen, J. Y.; Jiang, H.; Han, J.; Liu, W.; Ngai, T. Swelling, interfacial behavior, and rheology of soft core-shell microgels introducing acid isomer for pH-temperature dual-responsiveness. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2025, 43, 745–755 DOI： 10.1007/s10118-025-3310-1.

Li Zhang, Xin-Rui Li, Xia-Hui Xiao, et al. Swelling, Interfacial Behavior, and Rheology of Soft Core-Shell Microgels Introducing Acid Isomer for pH-Temperature Dual-responsiveness[J]. Chinese journal of polymer science, 2025, 43(5): 745-755. DOI： 10.1007/s10118-025-3310-1.

摘要

By incorporating cis-trans isomers of dicarboxylic acids—citraconic acid and mesaconic acid—into the polymer network of poly(

-isopropylacrylamide)

pH-temperature dual-responsive core-shell microgels were successfully synthesized. Molecular structure and crosslinking position of the dicarboxylic acids significantly affected the interfacial behavior and bulk viscoelasticity of the core-shell microgels.

Abstract

In this study

a pair of dicarboxylic acids as

cis

trans

isomerism—citraconic acid (CA) and mesaconic acid (MA)

was incorporated into polymeric networks of poly(

-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM)-based core-shell microgels

via

semi-batch precipitation polymerization. We demonstrated that the pH-temperature dual responsiveness of the core-shell microgels is highly correlated with the structure and position of the acid isomers. Both the

cis

trans

molecular structure and the crosslinking position of the dicarboxylic acids significantly influenced the hydration capacity and surface charge density of the core-shell microgels. These diverse properties first influenced the swelling behavior

further affecting the interfacial behavior of the microgels

including the oil-water dynamic interfacial tension and air-water compression isotherms. Furthermore

the rheological behavior of the microgel suspensions also displayed distinct dependences on the frequency and temperature

illustrating that the

cis-trans

molecular structure and crosslinked position of the dicarboxylic acids also significantly influenced the interparticle clustering in the bulk solution. Our results suggest that the pH sensitivity of the

cis

trans

dicarboxylic acid isomer affects the ionization and surface charge distribution of the core or shell layers of individual microgels

which further determines the interparticle interaction and cooperative rearrangement at interfaces and in the bulk.

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Keywords

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