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Effect of crosslinkers on photocopolymerization of N ‐vinylpyrrolidone and methacrylates to give hydrogels
Author(s) -
Lai YuChin
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-4628(19971121)66:8<1475::aid-app8>3.0.co;2-b
Subject(s) - methacrylate , copolymer , polymer chemistry , self healing hydrogels , n vinylpyrrolidone , chemistry , 2 hydroxyethyl methacrylate , materials science , organic chemistry , polymer
N ‐Vinylpyrrolidone (NVP) and methacrylates are frequently copolymerized to give hydrogels useful as contact lenses. However, the nature of their copolymerization was not well understood. In this study, the effect of a crosslinker on the photocopolymerization of NVP and 2‐hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) was discussed. It was found that crosslinkers with a vinyl carbonate group can copolymerize with NVP better than those containing an allyl group, which, in turn, are better than those containing a methacrylate group. A crosslinker with a vinyl carbonate and a methacrylate group can copolymerize NVP and HEMA the best in terms of giving hydrogels with the highest water content, followed by a crosslinker with a combination of allyl and methacrylate groups. Crosslinkers with only methacrylate or vinyl carbonate groups gave hydrogels either too fragile or too stiff to be useful. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 66: 1475–1484, 1997