Synthesis and characterization of acrylamide/acrylic acid hydrogels crosslinked using a novel diacrylate of glycerol to produce multistructured materials

Abstract

In this work we propose a new crosslinking agent and the method to use it for the synthesis of acrylate based hydrogels. The use of this diacrylate of glycerol, synthesized in our laboratory, allows the generation of materials with well defined micro-structures in the dry state, unique meso- and macro-structures during swelling, and enhanced mechanical properties and swelling capacity in water. These properties depend on the crosslinking agent concentration, as well as synthesis thermal history. Poly(acrylamide-co-acrylic acid) hydrogels are commonly crosslinked with N,N′-methylenebisacrylamide or N-isopropylacrylamide. Here we obtain and use a new crosslinking agent, obtained from the reaction between glycerol and acrylic acid to produce a Diacrylate of glycerol (DAG). Two synthesis methods at equivalent molar ratio of acrylamide/acrylic acid (AM/AA) were analyzed. The mechanical properties, the swelling capacity, and the morphology at microscale of these hydrogels showed a well defined transition at a critical concentration of crosslinking agent. DAG induces the generation of hydrogels with hierarchichal structure. The micro-structure surface morphology was investigated by scanning electron microscopy, the meso-structure by polarized light microscopy and the macro-structure by CCD imaging. The hydrogels with hierarchical structures showed improved mechanical properties when compared with structureless hydrogels. Control of the microstructure allows the generation of materials for different applications, i.e. templates or smart materials that interact with electromagnetic radiation. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.