Smart hydrogels are promising materials for actuators and sensors, as they can respond to small changes in their environment with a large property change. Hydrogels can respond to a variety of stimuli, for example temperature, pH, metal ions, etc. In this article, the synthesis and characterization of polyampholyte hydrogels based on open chain ligands showing pH and metal ion sensitivity are described. Copolymer and terpolymer gels using different mixtures of monomers i.e., N-[2-(dimethylaminoethyl)acrylamide] (DMAEAAm), N,N-dimethylacrylamide (DMAAm), acrylic acid (AA) and 2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulphonic acid (AMPS), have been synthesized. The effect of copolymer composition, i.e., the ratio and amount of ionic monomers and the degree of crosslinking on the swelling characteristics, was evaluated as a function of pH. On this basis, metal ion sensitivity measurements were performed at selected pH values. The metal ion sensitivity was measured by varying the concentration of Cu2+, Zn2+ and Ag⁺ ions under acidic pH conditions.
Keywords: N-[2-(dimethylaminoethyl)acrylamide]; metal ion sensitive; pH sensitive; photopolymerization; smart hydrogels.