Water structure in poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate): Effect of molecular weight of poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) on its property related to water

• Published in: Journal of applied polymer science Vol. 125; no. 1; pp. 53 - 60
• Main Authors: Mochizuki, Akira, Ogawa, Haruki, Nishimori, Yusuke
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company 05.07.2012; Wiley; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Applied sciences; atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP); Crystal growth; crystal structure; Differential scanning calorimetry; differential scanning calorimetry (DSC); Diffraction; Exact sciences and technology; Manganese; Materials science; Moisture content; Molecular structure; Molecular weight; Organic polymers; Physicochemistry of polymers; poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate); Polymerization; Polymers; Preparation, kinetics, thermodynamics, mechanism and catalysts; Radicals; water structure; X-ray diffraction (XRD); Structure effect; differential scanning calorimetry (DSC); End group; Molecular structure; Atom transfer polymerization; atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP); X-ray diffraction (XRD); Experimental study; Copper Complexes; Hydroxyethyl methacrylate polymer; water structure; Preparation; Water content; poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate); crystal structure
• ISSN: 0021-8995; 1097-4628
• DOI: 10.1002/app.35544

Low molecular weight poly(2‐hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (polyHEMA) with a number average molecular weight (Mn) <22,600, were prepared by atom transfer radical polymerization. The molecular weight and end groups of the polyHEMA were varied, and the water content equilibrium moisture sorption and water structure were analyzed using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and X‐ray diffractometry (XRD). Higher water content was observed for polyHEMA with Mn < 10,000. DSC revealed that the amounts of nonfreezing water are affected neither by the molecular weight nor by the end groups of the polyHEMA. On the other hand, the amount of freezing water was affected by both the molecular weight and end groups of polyHEMA, especially for polyHEMA with Mn < 20,000. The XRD‐DSC measurements showed that water in polyHEMA form hexagonal ice and that the direction of crystal growth is dependent on the molecular weight. These findings indicate that the molecular weight of polyHEMA plays a significant role in the water structure in polyHEMA. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012