Table 1.
Parameters of investigated gels. Visual appearance in equilibrium water-swollen state of gels, equilibrium water content (EWC), Young’s modulus (E) and the size of pores detected by cryo-SEM.
| Sample | Visual Appearance of Water-Swollen Gel |
EWC (g/g) |
Size of Pores in Cryo-SEM Image (μm) |
E in Swollen State (kPa) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| H0/0.3 | clear | 0.6 | no pores | 590 |
| H40/0.3 | clear | 0.7 | 0.6–10 | 430 |
| H80/1 | white | 4.4 | 2–5 | 4 |
| G0/0.3 | clear * | 2.8 | 2–40 | 250 |
| G40/0.3 | clear | 5.8 | 2–25 | 30 |
| H80/1-H0/0.3 | opaque | 0.6 | no pores | 980 |
| H80/1-G0/0.3 | opaque | 2.2 | 7–30 | 380 |
| G40/3-G0/0.3 | clear * | 1.9 | 2–25 | 540 |
| H0/1-G0/0.3 | clear * | 1.1 | 2–30 | 1010 |
* very slight scatter from a water-swollen sample, cf. Figure 1c.