Syntheses and self-assembly of novel polyurethane-itaconic acid copolymer hydrogels

Novel physically crosslinked polyurethane-itaconic acid (PU-I) copolymer hydrogels were synthesized by the macroiniferter-controlled radical polymerization method. The structures of the PU-I copolymer hydrogels were characterized by 1H NMR, FTIR, GPC, and DSC. The water contact angles and self-assembly of the PU-I copolymer hydrogels have been investigated. The results revealed that PU-I copolymer hydrogels have good hydrophilicity, so the water contact angles of polyurethane could be easily adjusted by controlling the content of the hydrophilic vinyl monomers. The PU-I copolymer hydrogels were subjected to solvent-induced self-assembly in THF + water to construct a variety of morphologies. The morphology of the PU-I copolymer hydrogels' self-assembly was observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and the mechanism of self-assembly was investigated.