Poly(ethylene glycol)-induced acceleration of free radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate: effects of highly viscous solvent and kinetic study

Abstract

Poly(ethylene glycol) with a molecular weight of 400 (PEG400) as an environmentally benign and highly viscous polymeric solvent was found to effectively accelerate the free radical polymerization (FRP) of methyl methacrylate and to afford a highmolecular-weight polymer. When the polymerization in PEG400 was performed at a monomer concentration of 3.0 mol l À1 and an initiator (2,2¢-azobis(isobutyronitrile)) concentration of 0.3Â10 À2 mol l À1 , the monomer conversion was completed for 6 h to afford a polymer with a number-average molecular weight (M n ) of 838 000. After polymerization, the PEG400 solvent was readily recovered and reused. The solvent effects of highly viscous PEG400 were kinetically analyzed. The polymerization rate (R p ) was proportional to the monomer concentration and the square root of both the initiator concentration and the viscosity of the polymerization media (g). For the FRP in the mixed solvents of PEG400 and toluene, both R p and M n values increased linearly with the square root of the g value. The kinetic study has shown that the highly viscous PEG400 solvent largely suppresses diffusion-controlled bimolecular termination.

Modification of acrylic bone cements by poly(ethylene glycol) with different molecular weight

“…PEG with lower molar mass is characterized by lower viscosity that enhanced mixing of melted PEG with liquid monomer, and as a result PEG contribute to gel effect and accelerates polymerization of MMA. Acceleration of MMA polymerization in the presence of PEG 400 was also observed by Matsuoka et al . The heat of polymerization (∆H p ) is given in Table .…”

“…Acceleration of MMA polymerization in the presence of PEG 400 was also observed by Matsuoka et al. [42] The heat of polymerization (ΔH p ) is given in Table 4.…”

Effect of Formulation on the Binding Efficiency and Selectivity of Precipitation Molecularly Imprinted Polymers

“…This is another evidence suggesting that the strength of interaction governs the formation of T:fM association clusters. In theory, the rate of reaction in free radical polymerisation is directly proportional to the concentration of the initiator [ 64 , 65 ]. Based on our results, it would seem that template incorporation is favoured by faster polymerisation.…”

“Cell adhesion resistant, UV curable, polymer zinc oxide nanocomposite materials for intraocular lens application”

“…Viscosity has a profound effect on cure kinetics of resins undergoing photopolymerization and needs to be optimized for rapid polymerization. Usually, medium molecular weight oligomers are used to increase the viscosity of monomers used in UV curing resins. For the present study, such an oligomer was prepared from PEA and PEMA to ensure good miscibility and phase uniformity that are necessary to ensure transparency of the cured resin.…”