Swelling behaviour of amphiphilic poly(methacryloxyethyl dimethylalkane ammonium bromide) gels in alcohol/water solvent systems

摘要

Three kinds of amphiphilic PMADAB gels were prepared through radiation-induced polymerization and crosslinking of methacryloxyethyl dimethylalkane ammonium bromide(MADAB) with different alkyl side chains(butyl,octyl and dodecyl).The length of alkyl side chains had significant influence on swelling behavior of the PMADAB gels in alcohol/water solvent.Equilibrium swelling degree(EDS) of PMBDAB(butyl) gel in water was ca.160 and decreased with increasing alcohol content(x),whereas EDS of PMODAB(octyl)and PMDDDAB(dodecyl) gels showed a convex-upward function of x,i.e.,these two gels barely swelled in pure water and swelled with increasing x and then shrank gradually.This phenomenon was explained by the hydrophobic association of long alkyl chains and a cosolvency effect of PMADAB in alcohol and water.The swelling behavior of PMADAB gels in methanol,ethanol and isopropanol were similar,and their EDS are related with the dielectric constant of alcohol solvents.The results suggest that PMADAB gels may be potential absorbents for various kinds of alcohols.