Figure 1.

Elastic moduli of 5% pAAm hydrogels as a function of (a) relative crosslinker concentration (%C_Bis) prepared using different concentrations of 4 nm silica nanoparticles—0% SiNPs (triangles), 1% SiNPs (diamonds), 2% SiNPs (squares), 3% SiNPs (Xs), 4% SiNPs (dashes), and 5% SiNPs (circles) and (b) nanoparticle concentration (%NP) prepared using different concentrations of the chemical crosslinker—0.0625% Bis (open squares) and 0.5% Bis (closed squares). Data shown are the mean of triplicate measurements ± standard deviation and have been repeated at least three times with similar results. Dashed line in panel (b) represents elastic modulus of 5% pAAm hydrogel prepared using 0.5% Bis and 0% SiNPs and acts as a guide to the eye.