Synthesis, properties and biodegradability of cross-linked amphiphilic Poly (vinyl acrylate)-Poly(tert-butyl acrylate)s by photo-initiated radical polymerization

The novel amphiphilic poly(vinyl acrylate)-poly(tert-butyl acrylate) based networks are produced by light-induced photo-initiated radical polymerization between poly(vinyl acrylate) (PVAcr), obtained by using hydroxyl moieties of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), and tert-Butyl acrylate (tBA) monomer. PVA is modified by acryloyl chloride to obtained the corresponding acrylate functionalities (PVAcr). The achieved PVAcr is crosslinked with different amount of tBA (PVAcr:tBA = 0.005:1 and 0.005:2 by mole) to give desired structures (PVAcr-PtBA-1 and PVAcr-PtBA-2) in the presence of 2,2-Dimethoxy-2-phenylacetophenone (DMPA) at lambda = 350 nm under nitrogen atmosphere. The structure, wettability, thermal and biodegradability properties of the pristine PVA and achieved networks are evaluated as a function of tBA loading by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, water contact angle (WCA) measurement, thermogravimetric (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analyses and biodegradation test, respectively. The results indicate that PVAcr-PtBA-2 obtained by higher tBA loading is less hydrophilic and biodegradable, but have improved thermal properties compared to pure PVA, and PVAcr-PVAcr control sample and PVAcr-PtBA-1.