Observations on the swelling characteristics of the zwitterionic hydrogel of poly(1-3-sulfopropyl)-2-vinyl-pyridinium-betaine hydrogel

Samples of poly[1-(3-sulfopropyl)-2-vinyl-pyridinium-betaine] (PSPV) have been synthesized to high conversion by free radical polymerization in aqueous solution of the zwitterionic monomer SPV with several concentrations of the crosslinker N,N′-methylene-bis-acrylamide (MBA). The densities of the resultant xerogels increased regularly with the content of MBA. Hydrogels obtained by swelling them in water and aqueous KSCN solution were examined by gravimetric and dimensional analysis. The water contents increased with decreasing content of MBA, the value of 92.7 wt% at the lowest MBA content being higher than that for other zwitterionic hydrogels. Enhanced swelling occurred in 1 M aq. KSCN at each MBA content, the total swelling being 98.1 wt% at the lowest crosslinker content. Swelling increased with increasing temperature. An approximate procedure to formulating swelling equilibrium in term of the volume fraction of water in hydrogel, in conjunction with the van’t Hoff equation, yields a small positive value for the enthalpy of swelling. This is compared with values derived similarly for other hydrogels.