Localized Nanoscale Heating Leads to Ultrafast Hydrogel Volume-Phase Transition

The rate of the volume-phase transition for stimuli-responsive hydrogel particles ranging in size from millimeters to nanometers is limited by the rate of water transport, which is proportional to the surface area of the particle. Here, we hypothesized that the rate of volume-phase transition could be accelerated if the stimulus is geometrically controlled from the inside out, thus facilitating outward water ejection. To test this concept, we applied transient absorption spectroscopy, laser temperature-jump spectroscopy, and finite-element analysis modeling to characterize the dynamics of the volume-phase transition of hydrogel particles with a gold nanorod core. Our results demonstrate that the nanoscale heating of the hydrogel particle core led to an ultrafast, 60 ns particle collapse, which is 2-3 orders of magnitude faster than the response generated from conventional heating. This is the fastest recorded response time of a hydrogel material, thus opening potential applications for such stimuli-responsive materials.