Abstract
This work presents an approach to extend the period for phase separation, independent of temperature, in ambient phase-separating photopolymerizations based on the copolymerization of structurally similar mono- and di-vinyl monomers. Copolymer resins composed of triethylene glycol dimethacrylate (TEGDMA) and ethylene glycol methyl ether methacrylate (EGMEMA) were modified with a thermoplastic prepolymer, poly(butyl methacrylate). With increasing EGMEMA modification into the bulk TEGDMA resin, there is a decrease in the initial reaction rate, which increases the time for development of compositionally different phases prior to network gelation. The period between phase separation and gelation was probed through optical and rheological measurements, and it was extended from 22 s in a TEGDMA resin to 69 s in a TEGDMA:EGMEMA copolymer, allowing these materials to be processed under a wide range of UV-irradiation intensities (300 μW cm-2-100 mW cm-2), which provided an additional degree of control over the resulting phase separated domain size and morphology.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 314-325 |
| Number of pages | 12 |
| Journal | European Polymer Journal |
| Volume | 67 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jun 1 2015 |
Funding
The donation of monomer used in this study by Esstech, the microscope access from the University of Colorado Nanomaterials Characterization Facility, as well as funding support from NIH R01DE022348 and the IUCRC Photopolymerization Center are greatly appreciated.
Keywords
- Heterogeneous polymers
- Kinetic control
- Phase separation
- Photopolymerization
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Materials Chemistry
- Polymers and Plastics
- General Physics and Astronomy
- Organic Chemistry