Kinetics of volume changes of responsive microgels (B03)

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Microgels are known for their rapid response to external stimuli. This feature makes the analysis of the kinetics also challenging. In this project, we study the kinetics of the volume change in detail for the uptake and release of molecules. Starting from microgels with cononsolvency where the volume change is induced by a co-solvent change, the scope will be expanded to the uptake/release of polyelectrolytes. To resolve the underlying phenomena, experiments will be performed in a newly developed microfluidic setup and using stopped-flow. The data will be used in thermodynamic models leading to a sound understanding of volume change kinetics.