| Summary: | This Thesis is dedicated to the development of mechanically reinforced thermoresponsive hydrogels, able of fast and extensive temperature-induced volume transition. Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)- (PNIPA-) based hydrogels crosslinked with Laponite clay nano-platelets, which are known for their extraordinary mechanical properties, were synthesized by free radical polymerization of the NIPA monomer in the presence of exfoliated clay nanoplatelets. In this work, the crucial role of the employed redox initiators in the formation of the physical PNIPA/clay network was established, and the particular processes taking place during the polymerization and network structure formation were described. The correlation of the time-dependent NIPA monomer conversion and of the observed structure-formation stages made possible to propose a general mechanism of the PNIPA/clay hybrid gel formation. Generally, a considerable attention was paid to the investigation of the formation-structure-property relationships. This knowledge makes it possible to control the structure evolution and hence the final material properties of the gels. An important part of this work is dedicated to the study of mechanical properties of the PNIPA/clay nanocomposite hydrogels and of the parameters which control them. The gained knowledge of...
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