Gel swelling theories: the classical formalism and recent approaches
- 30 August 2011
- journal article
- review article
- Published by Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) in Soft Matter
- Vol. 7 (22), 10536-10547
- https://doi.org/10.1039/c1sm06031g
Abstract
In this work, the classical theory of polymer/polyelectrolyte gel swelling is reviewed. This formalism is easy to understand and has been widely applied to gels and microgel particles. Nevertheless, its limitations and obscure aspects should be known before use. The case of temperature-sensitive gels is discussed in some detail because it deserves particular clarification. The application to experimental swelling data (of both gels and microgels) is also reviewed. In this way, strengths and weaknesses of this approach can be elucidated. Moreover, other formalisms are also outlined. Many of them are inspired by the classical one. Their improvements are briefly commented in this case. Others are based on different grounds.Keywords
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