Abstract
Radical copolymerization of 5-(methacryloyloxy)methyl-1,3-oxathiolane-2-thione (DTC) [1] and 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) [2] were carried out in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) using 2,2’-azobis(isobutyronitrile) (AIBN) as a radical initiator. The copolymerizations proceeded smoothly to give poly(DTC-co-HEMA)s with various compositions in almost quantitatively. Thermal properties of the obtained polymers were evaluated by thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The obtained polymers showed 5 wt% loss temperature (Td5) in the range from 163 to 204℃. The polymers obtained here exhibited glass transition temperature (Tg) in the range from 63 to 93℃. The copolymer with 4 mol % DTC content could be cross-linked by using 4,7,10-trioxa-1,13-tridecanediamine or poly(ethylene glycol) bis(3-aminopropyl) terminated (Mn = 1500) as a cross-linker. The obtained networked polymers were swollen in water exhibiting 165 and 242% swelling ratio, respectively. It was also found that lysine ammonium salt could be used as a crosslinker of the poly(DTC-co-HEMA).
