Effects of ionic liquid [Me3NC2H4OH]+[ZnCl3]- on γ-radiation polymerization of methyl methacrylate in ethanol and N,N-dimethylformamide

Radiation-induced polmerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) in ethanol (EtOH) and N,N-dimethyl-formamide (DMF) in the presence of ionic liquid [Me3NC2-H4OH](+)[ZnCl3](-) is reported. A substanial increase in monomers conversion and molecular weight is observed at room-temperature ionic liquid (RTIL) >60 vol.-% and the resulting PMMA has a broad multimodal MWD. A clear difference in the MWD pattern is noted between EtOH/RTIL and DMF/RTIL systems, probably due to the complicated interactions between the solvent and ionic liquid.