Synthesis, characterization, and thermal properties of diacrylic/divinylbenzene copolymers

In this article, synthesis, characterization, and thermal properties of diacrylic/divinylbenzene copolymers based on the new aromatic tetrafunctional acrylate monomers are presented. The new monomers were generated by treatment of epoxides derived from various aromatic diols: naphthalene-2,3-diol (NAF), biphenyl-4,4'-diol (BIF), bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)methanone (BEP) or 4,4'-thiodiphenol (BES), and epichlorohydrin with acrylic acid. The addition reaction was carried out by a ratio of 0.5 mol of suitable epoxy derivative and 1 mol of acrylic acid in the presence of 0.7 wt% of triethylbenzylammonia chloride (TEBAC) as a catalyst and 0.045 wt% of hydroquinone as a polymerization inhibitor. The chemical structure of the prepared acrylate monomers was confirmed by C-13 NMR and GC MS spectra. The emulsion-suspension polymerization of acrylate monomers with divinylbenzene (DVB) in the presence of pore-forming diluents (toluene + decan-1-ol) allowed obtaining microspheres containing pendant functional groups (hydroxyl groups). This process was carried out at constant mol ratio of acrylate monomers: DVB (1:1), and constant volume ratio of pore-forming diluents to monomers (1:1). The different concentrations of toluene in the mixture with decan-1-ol were used for qualifying the effect of the diluents on the microsphere characteristics. The influence of synthesis's parameters on the properties of copolymer beads, e.g., pore size and surface area by BET method, the surface texture by AFM, swelling behavior in polar and non-polar solvents as well as thermal stability by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and thermogravimetric analysis (TG) was studied and discussed.