Abstract
For the purpose of an electronic paper application, alginate/Ca hydrogel particles having a diameter of a few micrometers used with Titanium Black (TB), which has a diameter of ∼1 μm, for visualization purposes were prepared by mixing an aqueous sodium alginate solution with TB into an aqueous CaCl2 solution. In order to increase their absolute zeta potential ∣ζ∣ for demonstrating good electric responsive behavior, micro-hydrogel particles were rinsed instantaneously by different concentrations of Na2CO3 solution. Through this procedure, the absolute value of the zeta potential ∣ζ∣ in pure water increased from ∣ζ∣=1.3 mV for the minimum value to ∣ζ∣=73 mV for the maximum value with an upon increasing Na2CO3 concentration. Micro-hydrogel particles were set between electrodes in pure water, their electro-responsive behavior was examined under an applied electric field and their position was analyzed using an optical microscopy. It was found that micro-hydrogel particles with a high absolute zeta potential ∣ζ∣ could oscillate from the anode to the cathode with a corresponding frequency, and threshold absolute zeta potential ∣ζ∣ was found to be between 1.3 and 39 mV.
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Kaneko, D., Thi le, N., Shimoda, T. et al. Preparation methods of alginate micro-hydrogel particles and evaluation of their electrophoresis behavior for possible electronic paper ink application. Polym J 42, 829–833 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/pj.2010.78
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/pj.2010.78
