Tunable dual-stimuli response of a microgel composite consisting of reduced graphene oxide nanoparticles and poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) hydrogel microspheres

Naiyan Lu, Jiaojiao Liu, Jingliang Li, Zexin Zhang, Yuyan Weng, Bing Yuan*, Kai Yang, Yuqiang Ma

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

39 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

A type of photo- and thermo-responsive composite microsphere composed of reduced graphene oxide nanoparticles and poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (rGO@pNIPAM) is successfully fabricated by a facile solution mixing method. Due to the high optical absorbance and thermal conduction of rGO, the composite microspheres are endowed with the new property of photo-response, in addition to the intrinsic thermally sensitive property of pNIPAM. This new ability undoubtedly enlarges the scope of applications of the microgel spheres. Furthermore, through controlling the rGO content in the composite, the photo- and thermo-sensitivity of the composite can be effectively modulated. That is, with a lower rGO content (≤32% by weight), the composite microspheres perform only thermally induced changes, such as volume contraction (by ∼45% in diameter) and drug release, when crossing the lower critical solution temperature of pNIPAM. With a higher rGO content (∼47.5%), both temperature and light irradiation can trigger changes in the composite. However, when the rGO content is increased to around 64.5%, the thermo-responsivity of the composite disappears, and the spheres exhibit only photo-induced drug release. With a further increase in rGO content, the environmentally responsive ability of the microspheres vanishes. This journal is

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)3791-3798
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Materials Chemistry B
Volume2
Issue number24
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 28 Jun 2014
Externally publishedYes

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