Bending behavior of hydrogels composed of poly(methacrylic acid) and alginate by electrical stimulus

Abstract Interpenetrating polymer networks (IPNs) prepared from poly(methacrylic acid) (PMAAc) and sodium alginate (SA) exhibited electrical sensitive behavior. The swelling behavior of the PMAAc/SA IPN hydrogel was studied by immersion of the gel into aqueous HCl solutions at various concentrations and into various pH buffer solutions, and their responses to electric fields were also investigated. When swollen IPN hydrogel was placed between a pair of electrodes it exhibited bending behavior on application of an electric field, and showed stepwise bending behavior depending on the magnitude of the electrical stimulus. Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry