Elucidation of stimulus-response mechanism of polymer gels by micro/micro scale three-dimensional image technique and application to molecular

聚合物凝胶响应于溶剂组成、pH、离子强度和温度的变化而显示出体积的显著变化。它们在电场作用下收缩。此外，水溶胀的聚合物凝胶可以将化学能转化为机械能。这些性质导致了聚合物研究的活力和对聚合物凝胶体系开发的多样性的兴趣。阐明这类聚合物的刺激-响应机理是凝胶科学、新型高分子材料开发和高分子凝胶设计的重要课题之一。聚合物凝胶的性质与其结构和动力学密切相关。因此，建立阐明凝胶在外力作用下的结构和动力学的方法对于进行可靠的聚合物凝胶设计和开发新的先进聚合物凝胶具有重要意义。在这样的背景下，我们成功地开发了三维核磁共振成像系统和高场梯度核磁共振系统，能够在10 ^4 -10^cm ^2/s的宽范围内获得关于自旋密度和扩散系数分布的三维刺激-响应图像图案<11>，并阐明聚合物凝胶的刺激-响应机制。

Polymer gels show a dramatic change in volume in response to change in solvent composition, pH, ionic strength and temperature. They contract upon appliction of an electric field. Further, water-swollen polymer gels can convert chemical energy into mechanical energy. These properties lead to the vitality of polymer research and development of a diversity of interests in polymer gel systems. To elucidate the stimulus-response mechanism for such polymers is one of important problems for gel science and for development of new polymer materials and polymer gel design. The properties of polymer gels are closely related to their structures and dynamics. From such situations, the establishment of methods for elucidating the structures and dynamics of gels under external force is important for making reliable polymer gel design and developing new advanced polymer gels. From such a background, we have successfully developed by three-dimensional NMR imaging system and high field gradient NMR system capable of obtaining three-dimensional stimulus-response image patterns about spin density and diffusion coefficient distribution diffusion coefficients in the wide range of 10^4-10^<11> cm^2/s, and to elucidate the stimulus-response mechanism of polymers gels.