| 초록 |
Thermosensitive hydrogels were applied for water flow applications such as microfluidic systems, but only their functions based on reversible volume change of swelling and shrinking. This has limitations in applying to water flow. Herein, using thermosensitive hydrogel composite, irreversible water flow can be achieved, which can be developed into water pump. We constructed novel water pumping system using cylindrical porous poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)(PNIPAm) hydrogel that have PNIPAm/polydimethylsiloxane(PDMS) composite at the bottom. When the PNIPAm hydrogel shrink upon temperature rises, PNIPAm/PDMS composite acts as hydrophobic valve and the released water is pumped out from the water pump without flowing back through the valve. This water pump can be used as powerless water pump that operates with temperature only. It was proved to be useful as water treatment systems such as oil-water separation and dye adsorption, when PNIPAm/PDMS composite was designed for each application. |
