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Lipophilic polyelectrolyte gels as super-absorbent polymers for nonpolar organic solvents

Nature Materials volume 6, pages 429–433 (2007)Cite this article

Abstract

Polyelectrolyte gels that are known as super-absorbent polymers swell and absorb water up to several hundred times their dried weights and have become ubiquitous and indispensable materials in many applications1,2. Their superior swelling abilities originate from the electrostatic repulsion between the charges on the polymer chains and the osmotic imbalance between the interior and exterior of the gels3. However, no super-absorbent polymers for volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and especially for nonpolar organic solvents (ɛ<10) have been reported, because common polyelectrolyte gels collapse in such solvents4,5,6 owing to the formation of a higher number of aggregates of ions and ion pairs7,8. Here, we report that a novel class of polyelectrolyte gels bearing tetra-alkylammonium tetraphenylborate9,10 as a lipophilic and bulky ionic group swell in some nonpolar organic solvents up to 500 times their dry size. Dissociation of the ionic groups even in low-dielectric media (3<ɛ<10) enhances the swelling ability by expansion of the polymer networks3. This expands the potential of polyelectrolytes that have been used only in aqueous solutions or highly polar solvents11, and provides soft materials that swell in a variety of media. These materials could find applications as protective barriers for VOCs spilled in the environment and as absorbents for waste oil.

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Figure 1: Preparation of monomer (1), lipophilic polymer gels (1G) and octadecyl gel (OG).
Figure 2: Swelling of 1G and OG.
Figure 3: Swelling behaviours of 1G and OG in various organic solvents.

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Acknowledgements

Financial support for this research was provided by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan (MEXT) Grant-in-aid (B) and (S) for K.S. and S.S. and partial support was provided by the 21st century COE program for T.S. and S.S. This paper is dedicated to the memory of the late J. Sunamoto, who inspired us to investigate polymer gels swollen in organic solvents. We also thank T. Suzuki for helpful discussions at the initial stage.

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  1. Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyushu University, 744 Motooka, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan

    Toshikazu Ono, Takahiro Sugimoto, Seiji Shinkai & Kazuki Sada

  2. Center for Future Chemistry, Kyushu University, 744 Motooka, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan

    Seiji Shinkai

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  1. Toshikazu Ono
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Correspondence to Kazuki Sada.

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Ono, T., Sugimoto, T., Shinkai, S. et al. Lipophilic polyelectrolyte gels as super-absorbent polymers for nonpolar organic solvents. Nature Mater 6, 429–433 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat1904

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