(141b) Multicomponent Polymer Gels with Enhanced Elasticity

We report rheology and small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) studies of a multicomponent gel consisting of the biopolymer alginate together with a temperature-sensitive copolymer, Pluronic® F127, and silicate nanoparticles, laponite®. Although the F127 systems on their own form relatively weak gels in water, the multicomponent gels exhibit significantly higher storage and loss modulus (Gâ??, Gâ?) values than alginate-laponite gels. The G' of the nanocomposite gels containing F-127 Pluronic® are two orders of magnitude higher than the control containing just alginate and laponite. The interaction between the components appears to be synergistic; that is, the resulting multicomponent hydrogels are much more elastic than the individual components or binary combinations. The F127 also imparts some thermoresponsive character to the gels, although the effects are not as dramatic as seen in many other thermoresponsive polymers. SANS studies show that the alginate chains impact formation of the cubic micellar structure that is typically seen in Pluronic® copolymers.