The development of a novel smart material based on colloidal microgels and cotton

Colloidal microgels are often described as “smart” due to their ability to undergo quite dramatic conformational changes in response to a change in their environmental conditions (e.g. temperature, pH). A range of novel smart materials were developed by the incorporation of colloidal microgels into cotton fabric. A series of microgels have been prepared by a surfactant free emulsion polymerization based on N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) monomer....