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Frontal Copolymerization Synthesis and Property Characterization of Starch‐ graft ‐poly(acrylic acid) Hydrogels
Author(s) -
Yan QingZhi,
Zhang WenFeng,
Lu GuoDong,
Su XinTai,
Ge ChangChun
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
chemistry – a european journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.687
H-Index - 242
eISSN - 1521-3765
pISSN - 0947-6539
DOI - 10.1002/chem.200500554
Subject(s) - polymerization , copolymer , materials science , monomer , acrylic acid , polymer chemistry , polymer , chemical engineering , self healing hydrogels , bulk polymerization , radical polymerization , composite material , engineering
Recently, a considerable amount of research has centered on uniquely structured polymers synthesized through self‐propagating frontal polymerization. The obtained polymer materials have better features than those obtained by using the classical batch route. The additional advantages are short reaction times and low cost. This work describes the first frontal polymerization synthesis of a graft copolymer superabsorbent hydrogel of acrylic acid onto starch at high monomer and initiator concentration. The effects of varying the relative amounts of the reaction components on the most relevant parameters relating to frontal polymerization were explored. The front velocity dependence on initiator concentration could be fit to a power function. The temperature profiles were found to be very sharp with a maximum temperature below 150 °C, which was responsible for high monomer conversion. The ultimate properties of the product appear to depend on the polymerization front velocity and the temperature. The high‐temperature and rapid temperature increase at the polymerization front led to products with interconnected porous structures caused by the evaporation of water. So, a fast‐swelling, highly absorbing hydrogel with respect to batch polymerization was obtained.