Effects of the Gel Size on the Thermal Behavior of N-isopropylacrylamide Gels in Relation to the Volume Phase Transition

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Abstract
Effects of the gel size on the thermal behavior and the shrinking profile of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)(NIPA)gel in water were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry(DSC) and the volume measurement at the same heating rate. The DSC thermogram of NIPA gel of the smallest size gave double endothermic peaks and the gel underwent a discontinuous volume phase transition during DSC run. On the other hand, a single endothermic peak was observed for NIPA gel of the largest size and the gel shrank only slightly during DSC run due to the slow volume change.