화학공학소재연구정보센터
Macromolecules, Vol.33, No.18, 6780-6786, 2000
Reaction kinetics and morphological changes during isothermal cure of vinyl/dimethacrylate networks
Free radical polymerization of two formulations based on tetraethoxylated bisphenol A dimethacrylate initiated by azobis(methylbutyronitrile) were investigated. Two comonomers were used (20 wt %), styrene or divinylbenzene. The polymerization was conducted under isothermal conditions at various temperatures between 60 and 80 degrees C. The influence of comonomer structure and cure temperature is discussed and focused on two main points: reaction kinetics, i.e., evolution of double bonds, and radical concentration and morphological changes during the course of polymerization. The use of DVB as comonomer enhances diffusion limitation. The polymerization rate and the double-bond conversion are also limited when DVB is used, even at higher cure temperature where diffusion is enhanced. The formation of microgels was followed by dynamic light scattering. Microgels that have diameters of between 19 and 40 nm tend to aggregate into clusters up to the gel point where a macroscopic network is formed. Clusters are bigger when DVB is used because of the large amount of pendant double bonds. At the gel point, the final morphology of the network is fixed and consists of the agglomeration of single microgels which were observed by atomic force microscopy. With an increase in cure temperature, microgels and clusters are found to be smaller in both systems.