2019 Fiscal Year Final Research Report
Isochoric Hydrogels Possessing Thermal Hardening and Toughening
| Project/Area Number |
17K19146
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Research (Exploratory)
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| Allocation Type | Multi-year Fund |
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| Research Field |
Polymer, Organic materials, and related fields
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| Research Institution | Hokkaido University |
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Principal Investigator |
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| Project Period (FY) |
2017-06-30 – 2020-03-31
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| Keywords | ゲル / 相分離 / ガラス転移 |
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| Outline of Final Research Achievements |
Polymer materials are generally hard (glass state) and soft (rubber state) at low and high temperatures respectively, so that plastic products become soft when heated. Contrary to this intrinsic property of polymers, we have created the world's first polymer gel that is soft at low temperatures and hard at high temperatures. This polymer gel can be easily prepared from versatile, inexpensive and non-toxic raw materials that are also used for food additives. It is soft and stretchable at relatively low temperatures near room temperature, but it rapidly harden so much above a certain temperature. This phenomenon utilizes the temperature-responsive phase separation of polymers. Previously, the gel phase separation was not strong enough to vitrify the structure. A very strong phase separation was achieved by introducing a mechanism whereby the thermophile protein is stabilized even at high temperatures.
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| Free Research Field |
高分子科学、ゲル、バイオセラミックス、バイオマテリアル
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| Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements |
現在、高分子製品は広く利用されているが、高温で軟化することで性能が低下する課題が多くある。この高温で軟化する性質は、高分子の普遍的な性質であるが、本相分離ゲルが示す昇温過程におけるゴムーガラス転移は、これまでの高分子の常識を覆す逆の温度応答現象であり、これらの高分子製品が抱える課題を一気に解決できる可能性を秘めている。また、相分離現象は、大きな吸熱を伴うため、昨今の地球温暖化防止対策として、太陽からの輻射熱を吸収し構造に溜め込むことで、省エネ型の熱吸収材として利用できる。このように、本研究は、高分子の新規基礎研究開拓だけでなく、その新奇な性質を利用したこれまでにない応用が期待できる。
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