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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Diffusive Behavior Of Physically Cross-Linked Hydrogels, Morgan A. Stilke
Diffusive Behavior Of Physically Cross-Linked Hydrogels, Morgan A. Stilke
Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects
A hydrogel is a water swollen polymeric network that has the potential to transform a variety of biomedical applications because of its biocompatibility and water content. Unfortunately, hydrogels typically have poor mechanical robustness. The majority of the content is water, while the remaining structure consists of a physical network, a covalent network, or a combination of both, yielding strength and toughness. There are several strategies attempted to improve mechanical properties including double network hydrogels comprised of two interpenetrating networks: one being a highly crosslinked sacrificial network and the other being a weakly crosslinked network that maintains reversibility after deformation. However, …
Optimizing Solvent Blends For A Quinary System, Thomas L. Hoy
Optimizing Solvent Blends For A Quinary System, Thomas L. Hoy
Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects
The Department of Polymer Engineering had received a grant from the Keck foundation to produce a process in which hundreds of copolymers can be formulated, synthesized, analyzed and then extrapolated to produce the optimal polymer for the desired material property. This process involves synthesizing approximately fifty polymers in a custom apparatus, none of which necessarily have the same monomer components. This leads to issue of which solvent or blend of solvents to use that would sufficiently dissolve both monomers and the resulting copolymer. If the monomers are not completely dissolved, a homogenous reaction will be impossible and if the copolymer …