Synthesis of Poly(methacrylamide‐co‐methacrylic acid) Nanogels: Effect of Synthesis Parameters on the Nanosize, Characterization and Stimuli‐Sensitive Characteristics

Abstract Poly(methacrylamide‐co‐methacrylic acid) P(MAAm‐co‐MAAc) nanogels were synthesized using emulsion polymerization method and characterized in terms of structure, stimuli‐sensitive behavior and nanosize. The effect of monomer, surfactant (sodium dodecyl sulfate) and cross‐linker (N,N′‐methylenebisacrylamide) concentration on the nanosize of the nanogels was investigated. The hydrodynamic size of nanogels was determined by dynamic light scattering (DLS) and it was found to be in the range of 109.8–146.1 nm. Polydispersity index (PDI) values were lower than 0.3 (in the range of 0.145–0.261) confirming the narrow size distribution of the nanogels. Zeta potential measurements indicated that the nanogels exhibited good stability. Stimuli‐sensitive behavior of the nanogels was evaluated using UV‐visible spectroscopy. Characterization of the nanogels was carried out by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X‐ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).