from the conferences organized by TANGER Ltd.
Properties of hydrogels that define their application potential (e.g., stiffness, mechanical strength, transport properties) are primarily based on the morphology of the internal structure. Accurate analysis of the ultrastructure of hydrogels is therefore important for understanding the parameters affecting the functionality of hydrogels. Accordingly, this work was focused on the optimization and testing of methods suitable for the analysis of the nanostructure of hydrogel materials with a focus on determining the pore size. Conventional porosimetry methods (DSC thermoporometry), direct visualization methods (SEM, cryo-SEM, and AFM) as well as rheology, turbidimetry, and DLS microrheology were chosen as methods for structural analysis. Hydrogels based on polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) were chosen as representative hydrogel systems for testing these methods. The results obtained by the individual methods were compared.
Keywords: Hydrogel, polyvinyl alcohol, structural analysis© This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.