Ultrafast Responsive Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) Gel Produced by Cryostructuring of Self-crosslinkable Polymer Microgels
A macroporous material composed of closely aggregated particles was prepared by cryostructuration of N-isopropylacrylamide-co-N-hydroxymethylacrylamide (NIPA-co-HMAm) particle suspensions. The formed structure was maintained by the formation of covalent bonds through self-crosslinking between the particles while the system was in a semi-frozen state thus avoiding the need to freeze-dry the sample.