Swelling characterization of poly (acrylamide-co-N-vinylimidazole) hydrogels crosslinked by TMPTA and semi-IPN's with PEG

摘要

In this study, a novel semi-interpenetrating network (semi-IPN's) hydrogel, composed of acrylamide (AAm) with N-vinylimidazole (NVI) as comonomer, with poly (ethylene glycol)(PEG) and a multifunctional crosslinker such as trimethylolpropane triacrylate (TMPTA) was prepared. Highly swollen poly (AAm/NVI) hydrogels and semi-IPN's were synthesized by free radical solution polymerization. Swelling experiments were performed in water at 25 degrees C, gravimetrically. The influence of NVI and PEG content in hydrogels were examined. Poly (AAm/NVI) and poly (AAm/NVI/ PEG) hydrogels showed large extents of swelling in aqueous media the swelling being highly dependent on the chemical composition of the hydrogels. Swelling ratio of poly (AAm/ NVI) hydrogels and poly (AAm/NVI/PEG) hydrogels was shown 7.16-39.85. Diffusion behavior was investigated. Water diffusion into hydrogels was found to be non-Fickian in character. This study has given the quantitative information on the swelling characteristic of poly (AAm/ NVI) hydrogel and semi-IPN's as water absorbent in many potential applications.