Colloidal microgels are often described as “smart” due to their ability to undergo quite dramatic conformational changes in response to a change in their environmental conditions (e.g. temperature, pH). A range of novel smart materials were developed by the incorporation of colloidal microgels into cotton fabric. A series of microgels have been prepared by a surfactant free emulsion polymerization based on N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) monomer. Poly(NIPAM) is a thermosensitive polymer which undergoes a conformational transition close to the human skin temperature. Poly(NIPAM) was co-polymerized acrylic acid (AA), to prepare pH/temperature-sensitive microgels. Microgel particles were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), attenuated total reflectance fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy, and dynamic light scattering (DLS).

This research aims at coupling microgel particles onto cotton fibers and comparing between different attachment techniques. The coupling reactions between microgels and cotton cellulose are only feasible if they both have appropriate functionalities. For microgels, this was achieved by using different initiators which introduce different functional groups on the particle surface and different surface charges. Cotton samples were successfully modified by carboxymethylation, periodate oxidation, grafting of 1,2,3,4-butanetetracarboxylic acid, and chloroacetylation in order to target possible reactions with the terminal functional groups of the microgel particles. Microgels were attached to the cotton fabrics using different methods and the bonds formed were determined by ATR-FTIR spectroscopy and SEM. The reaction yields were quantified gravimetrically and the maximum weight increase of cotton samples due to the attached microgels was around 24% (w/w).

胶体微凝胶由于其响应环境条件（例如温度，pH）的变化而经历相当剧烈的构象变化的能力，通常被称为“智能”。通过将胶体微凝胶掺入棉织物中，开发了一系列新颖的智能材料。通过基于N-异丙基丙烯酰胺（NIPAM）单体的无表面活性剂乳液聚合反应制备了一系列微凝胶。聚（NIPAM）是一种热敏性聚合物，会经历接近人类皮肤温度的构象转变。保利（NIPAM）是合作伙伴-聚合丙烯酸（AA），以制备对pH /温度敏感的微凝胶。通过扫描电子显微镜（SEM），衰减全反射傅立叶变换红外（ATR-FTIR）光谱和动态光散射（DLS）表征微凝胶颗粒。

这项研究旨在将微凝胶颗粒耦合到棉纤维上，并比较不同的附着技术。微凝胶和棉纤维素之间的偶联反应只有在它们都具有适当的功能性的情况下才可行。对于微凝胶，这是通过使用不同的引发剂实现的，该引发剂在颗粒表面引入了不同的官能团和不同的表面电荷。棉花样品通过羧甲基化成功修饰，高碘酸盐氧化，1,2,3,4-丁烷四羧酸的接枝和氯乙酰化，目的是与微凝胶颗粒的末端官能团进行可能的反应。使用不同的方法将微凝胶附着到棉织物上，并通过ATR-FTIR光谱和SEM确定形成的键。用重量分析法定量反应产率，并且由于附着的微凝胶，棉样品的最大重量增加为约24％（w / w）。