Preparation and characterization of poly(methylmethacrylate-co-ethylene glycol dimethacrylate) microgels

Internally crosslinked polymer microgels were obtained with various molar ratios of methyl methacrylate/ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (MMA/EGDMA) using the solution polymerization method. For each molar ratio of MMA/EGDMA used, there was a critical gelation concentration of monomers for the microgel formation. Poly(methylmethacrylate-co-ethylene glycol dimethacrylate) microgel was soluble in various organic solvents and melted at a certain temperature. The physical properties of the microgels such as the intrinsic viscosity, coil density, molecular weight, particle size, and thermal properties were also investigated. It was observed that the microgels are compact and spherical particles within a range of 50 similar to 100 mu m. However the microgel particles were slightly elongated and aggregated at high monomer concentrations and molar ratios of MMA/EGDMA.