Network Macromolecular Structures. The Crosslinker Effect

Abstract

The study presents the possibility to prepare copolymers based on 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate using two variants of comonomers: ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (1) and respectively 3, 9- divinyl -2, 4, 8, 10-tetraoxaspiro[5.5]-undecane (2) that act as crosslinkers for the methacrylate networks. All these monomers are well known for their use in the bio- and photodegradable polymers preparation as well as to generate gel structures. The chemical structure and composition of the copolymers – synthesized through redox polymerization process using ammonium persulfate and N,N,N’, N’ –tetramethylethylenediamine as initiator pair were confirmed by FT-IR spectroscopy. The transparent gel structures were prepared in ethylene glycol. The influence of the comonomers type upon gel copolymers formation was put into evidence by the swelling behavior of the polymeric structure. The swelling effected at 37C differentiates the crosslinker comonomers, attributing a better performance to the 3, 9- divinyl -2, 4, 8, 10-tetraoxaspiro[5.5]-undecane. The morphological information concerning the studied polymeric compounds by SEM evidenced the differences between the hydrogels with respect to crosslinker type and its quantity in the monomer feed. Also the thermal stability is a function of the type and quantity of the crosslinker. The study underlines the possibility to optimize the network macromolecular structure using a properly crosslinker choice, taking into account the potential application in biomedical and sensors domain.