Effect of type and concentration of surfactants on swelling behavior of poly[N-[3-(dimethylamino)propyl]methacrylamide-co- N,N-methylenebis(acrylamide)] hydrogels

A series of thermosensitive hydrogels were prepared from N-[3-(dimethylamino)propyl]methacrylamide (DMAPMA) monomer by using 11.6–17.8% (m/m) N,N-methylenebis(acrylamide) (MBAAm) as the crosslinker and comonomer in water. A kinetic study of the absorption determined the transport mechanism. The diffusion coefficients of these hydrogels were calculated for the Fickian mechanism. It was shown that the swelling behavior of the P(DMAPMA-co-MBAAm) hydrogels can be controlled by changing the amount of MBAAm. The swelling equilibrium of the P(DMAPMA-co-MBAAm) hydrogels was also investigated as a function of temperature in aqueous solutions of the anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and the cationic surfactant dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide (DTAB). In pure water, irrespective of the amount of MBAAm, the P(DMAPMA-co-MBAAm) hydrogels showed a discontinuous phase transition between 30 and 40 °C. However, the transition changed from discontinuous to continuous with the addition of surfactants, this is ascribed to the conversion of non-ionic P(DMAPMA-co-MBAAm) hydrogel into polyelectrolyte hydrogels due to binding of surfactants through the hydrophobic interaction. Additionally, the amount of free SDS and DTAB ions was measured at different temperatures by a conductometric method, it was found that the electric conductivity of the P(DMAPMA-co-MBAAm) – surfactant systems depended strongly on both the type and concentration of surfactant solutions.