Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada
Prof. Dr. Michael K.C. Tam
Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada
PH-Responsive polymers are systems whose solubility, volume, and chain conformation can be manipulated by changes in pH, co-solvent, and electrolytes. This review summarizes recent developments covering synthesis, physicochemical properties, and applications in various disciplines. A variety of synthetic methodologies comprising of emulsion polymerization and living radical polymerization techniques are described, and some of their salient features are highlighted. Several polymeric systems, such as homopolymers, block copolymers, microgels, hydrogels and polymer brushes at interfaces are reviewed, where important characteristics that govern their behavior in solutions are described. Potential applications of these systems in controlled drug delivery, personal and home care, industrial coatings, biological and membrane science, viscosity modifiers, colloid stabilization, and water remediation, are discussed.
Pickering emulsions with stimuli-responsive properties have, in recent years, received a considerable amount of attention. This paper provides a concise and comprehensive review of Pickering emulsion systems that possess the ability to respond to an array of external triggers, including pH, temperature, CO2concentration, light intensity, ionic strength, and magnetic field intensity.
1 May 2017 in Journal of Colloid and Interface Science