Preparation of uniform poly(glycidyl methacrylate) porous microspheres by membrane emulsification–polymerization technology

Uniform poly(glycidyl methacrylate‐divinyl‐benzene) (P(GMA‐DVB)) and poly(glycidyl methacrylate‐ethylene dimethacrylate) (P(GMA‐EGDMA)) porous microspheres with several 10 μm were successfully prepared by membrane emulsification–polymerization technology. Conventional suspension polymerization method was first investigated by examining the effects of recipe components on the morphologies of P(GMA‐DVB), including stabilizer, diluent, and crosslinker to select a optimum recipe. The membrane emulsification–polymerization process was developed to prepare uniform PGMA porous microspheres as the following: the oil phase composed of monomer, diluent and initiator was pressed through membrane pores into the aqueous phase to form uniform droplets, and subsequent suspension polymerization was carried out. GMA and 4‐methyl‐2‐pentanol in the selected recipe were relatively hydrophilic, and therefore oil phase could wet the hydrophilic glass membrane and bring about polydispersed droplets. However, when isooctane was added as a component of diluents, the uniform droplets could be prepared by membrane emulsification method. In the membrane emulsification–polymerization, the coagulation between microspheres obviously decreased while yield of microspheres slightly increased. To extend the application of PGMA, as a trail, uniform P(GMA‐EGDMA) porous microspheres were also successfully prepared by membrane emulsification–polymerization with a isooctane contained diluent, even though EGDMA was more hydrophilic than DVB. Therefore, recipe was found the important factor to prepare uniform PGMA porous microspheres using membrane emulsification–polymerization method. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 102: 5018–5027, 2006     

Different dispersion polymerization strategies influence the quality of fluorescent poly (St‐co‐GMA) microspheres

The polymerization strategy plays a vital role in the preparation of functional microspheres. In this work, fluorescent poly (styrene‐co‐glycidyl methacrylate) (PSt‐GMA) microspheres were synthesized via one‐stage and two‐stage dispersion polymerization with 4‐Bis(5‐phenyl‐1,3‐oxazol‐2‐yl)benzene (POPOP) as fluorescence agent. SEM and DLS were adopted to characterize the properties of prepared microspheres. The UV‐vis and fluorescence spectroscopy were used to analyze the mechanisms of two‐stage dispersion polymerization. The experimental results showed that the size distribution and fluorescence intensity of prepared microspheres could be improved by two‐stage dispersion polymerization compared to one‐stage dispersion polymerization. In addition, according to UV‐vis, the interactions between POPOP and Poly (N‐vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) as well as POPOP and Glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) could affect the particle size and its distribution. UV‐vis and fluorescence spectra implied that the POPOP existed outside of the particle's core via two‐stage strategy. The monomer conversion of styrene was similar at the beginning of reaction; however, the monomer conversion of styrene by two‐stage strategy was higher than that of by one‐stage strategy. In a word, two‐stage dispersion polymerization could prepare fluorescent microspheres with the monodispersion micrometer‐size and high quality. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 41927.     

Synthesis of glycidyl methacrylate containing diethanol amine and its binary copolymers with ethyl methacrylate and butyl methacrylate as nano‐size chelating resins for removal of heavy metal ions

One of the most important applications of chelating and functional polymers is their capability to recover metal ions from their solutions. This study concerns the synthesis of a hydrophilic glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) monomer‐bearing diethanol amine (DEA) chelating group from the reaction of GMA and DEA. The formed adduct (A) was characterized via FTIR and mass spectra and subjected to homopolymerization and binary copolymerization with ethyl methacrylate and butyl methacrylate. The copolymerization process was carried out via a semi‐batch emulsion polymerization technique by using potassium persulphate/sodium bisulphite as a redox pair initiation system and sodium dodecyl benzene sulphonate as an emulsifier at 65°C. The obtained polymers were characterized via FTIR, thermal gravimetric analysis, and UV–VIS. Volume‐average diameters (D_v) in nanoscale range for the prepared polymers were confirmed by transmission electron microscope investigation. It was shown that the obtained nano‐size chelating polymers have a powerful adsorption character toward transition metal ions (Cu⁺², Cr⁺³, Ni⁺², and Co⁺²) and efficient selectivity for Cu⁺² and Ni⁺² ions at normal pH. The effects of pH, time, and different comonomer feed compositions on the uptake of metal ions were studied. The reaction between the obtained chelating resins and different metal ions was confirmed to be a second‐order reaction. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010     

Polyethylenimine‐grafted and HSA‐immobilized poly(GMA–MMA) affinity adsorbents for bilirubin removal

The epoxy‐group‐containing microspheres from cross‐linked glycidyl methacrylate and methyl methacrylate, poly(GMA–MMA), were prepared by suspension polymerisation. The epoxy groups of the poly(GMA–MMA) microspheres were used for grafting with an anionic polymer polyethylenimine (PEI) to prepare non‐specific affinity adsorbents (poly(GMA–MMA)–PEI) for bilirubin removal. The specificity of the poly(GMA–MMA)–PEI adsorbent to bilirubin was further increased by immobilization of human serum albumin (HSA) via adsorption onto PEI‐grafted poly(GMA–MMA) adsorbent. Various amounts of HSA were immobilized on the poly(GMA–MMA)–PEI adsorbent by changing the medium pH and initial HSA concentration. The maximum HSA content was obtained at 68.3 mg g^?1 microspheres. The effects of pH, ionic strength, temperature and initial bilirubin concentration on the adsorption capacity of both adsorbents were investigated in a batch system. Separation of bilirubin from human serum was also investigated in a continuous‐flow system. The bilirubin adsorption on the poly(GMA–MMA)–PEI and poly(GMA–MMA)–PEI–HSA was not well described by the Langmuir model, but obeyed the Freundlich isotherm model. The poly(GMA–MMA)–PEI affinity microspheres are stable when subjected to sanitization with sodium hydroxide after repeated adsorption–desorption cycles. Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry     

Surface functionalization of Si3N4 nanoparticles by graft polymerization of glycidyl methacrylate and styrene

To improve dispersibility and interfacial interaction of nano‐Si₃N₄ particles in epoxy‐based composites, graft of glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) and styrene (St)/GMA onto the nanoparticles' surface was carried out in terms of emulsion polymerization method. The grafting polymers proved to be chemically attached to the nanoparticles via the double bonds introduced during the coupling agent pretreatment. The factors affecting the graft parameters, such as monomer concentration, initiator consumption, reaction time, etc., were investigated. It was shown that higher concentrations of monomer and initiator are favorable for the graft polymerization. When St/GMA was employed as the grafting monomer, the nanoparticles were found to play the role of polymerization loci. The grafted nanoparticles exhibit greatly improved dispersibility in cured epoxy. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 102: 992–999, 2006     

分散聚合法合成含有环氧基的无孔超顺磁性微球及其表征

Non-porous superparamagnetic polymer microspheres with epoxy groups were prepared by dispersion polymerization of glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) in the presence of magnetic iron oxide (Fe3O4) nanoparticles coated with oleic acid. The polymerization was carried out in the ethanol/water medium using polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and 2,2'-azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) as stabilizer and initiator, respectively. The magnetic microspheres obtained were characterized with scanning electron microscopy (SEM), vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The results showed that the magnetic microspheres had an average size of 1μm with superparamagnetic characteristics. The saturation magnetization was found to be 4.5emu·g-1. There was abundance of epoxy groups with density of 0.028 mmol·g-1 in microspheres. The magnetic PGMA microspheres have extensive potential uses in magnetic bioseparation and biotechnology.     

Polymerization in magnetic field: XVIII. Influence of surfactant nature on the synthesis and thermal properties of poly(methyl methacrylate) and poly[(methyl methacrylate)‐co‐(epoxypropyl methacrylate)]

BACKGROUND: The possibility to use β‐cyclodextrin as biodegradable tensioactive and an electromagnetic field in order to improve the kinetic parameters of radical emulsion polymerization is of interest. Thus, the influence of different surfactants—sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) and β‐cyclodextrin (CD)—on the pathway of emulsion polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) and emulsion copolymerization of MMA with 2,3‐epoxypropyl methacrylate (GMA) performed with or without the presence of a continuous electromagnetic field (MF) was studied. RESULTS: The presence of the MF leads to a considerable increase of the conversion during the first part of the reaction if the classic surfactant (SLS) is used. The reactions performed without MF and with CD exhibit a decrease of the conversion and of the polymerization rate as compared with the variants using SLS. The swelling rate and the maximum degree of swelling vary with the surfactant nature and with the reaction conditions and MF presence. Data from thermogravimetry and differential scanning calorimetry evidence the dependences between the polymer characteristics and the preparation conditions. CONCLUSION: This research underlines the coupling possibilities of the influence of a MF—growth of the reaction rate and conversion explained through radical pairs mechanism—with a combination of the ‘cage’ effect and ‘conformational control’ afforded by CD. The presence of MF and CD during the syntheses leads to an increase of T_g and an increase of PMMA and P(MMA‐co‐GMA) thermal stability. Copyright © 2007 Society of Chemical Industry     

UV固化丙烯酸酯胶粘剂的合成及性能研究

以甲基丙烯酸甲酯(MMA)、丙烯酸丁酯(BA)、甲基丙烯酸缩水甘油酯(GMA)和丙烯酸羟乙酯(HEA)为共聚单体,并以二缩三丙二醇二丙烯酸酯(TPGDA)为交联剂、十二烷基硫醇(NDM)为链转移剂和乙酸乙酯为极性溶剂,采用核/壳溶液聚合法合成了侧链含C=C的丙烯酸酯预聚体;然后以此为基体树脂、丙烯酸异冰片酯(IBOA)和三羟甲基丙烷二丙烯酸酯(TMPTA)为活性稀释剂、651为自由基光引发剂和碘鎓盐为阳离子光引发剂,制备了UV固化胶粘剂。研究结果表明:合成丙烯酸酯预聚体的最佳工艺条件是m(BA)∶m(MMA)∶m(GMA)∶m(TPGDA)∶m(HEA)=20∶60∶10∶4∶6、n(TPGDA)∶n(NDM)=2∶2、w(热引发剂)=3%和w(乙酸乙酯)≥70%(均相对于共聚单体总质量而言);自由基/阳离子混杂双重UV固化胶粘剂比单一自由基UV固化胶粘剂具有更大的附着力和耐酸碱性,此时前者的最佳配方中w(预聚体)=55%、w(651或碘鎓盐)=5%、w(IBOA)=15%、w(TMPTA)=12%和w(GMA)=8%(均相对于胶粘剂总物料质量而言)。     

氨基功能化聚苯乙烯纳米微球的制备及其CO2吸附性能研究

以苯乙烯(St)和甲基丙烯酸缩水甘油酯(GMA)为共聚单体,通过细乳液聚合法制备出聚苯乙烯纳米微球,并研究了单体配比与反应条件对纳米微球粒径大小与分布的影响。然后利用GMA上的活性环氧基团将有机胺接枝到纳米微球表面,并将其应用于CO2吸附。采用动态激光散射、扫描电子显微镜、红外光谱、元素分析等方法对纳米微球进行了结构表征。结果表明,所制备的纳米微球最小粒径为67 nm,粒径大小均一可控,而且纳米微球表面成功地接枝上有机胺;乙二胺改性纳米微球的CO2吸附量为2.45 mmol/g,并且吸附循环稳定性较好。     

New crosslinked polymer from a rapid polymerization of acrylic acid with triaziridine‐containing compound

A triaziridine containing compound, trimethylolpropane tris(1‐aziridinepropionate) (TMPTA‐AZ), is prepared from a Michael addition of aziridine (AZ) with trimethylolpropane triacrylate (TMPTA). A rapid polymerization of acrylic acid (AA) with TMPTA‐AZ occurred at ambient temperature without catalyst. This polymerization process involves three subsequent reactions are proposed: (1) An exothermic neutralization takes place between AA and TMPTA‐AZ. (2) That neutralization heat triggers AZ ring‐opening reaction and that carboxyl group (of AA) plays as a nucleophile and results in an amino ester bond formation. (3) A final crosslinked polymer is obtained from that amino group reacts with its acrylic double bond via an intermolecular Michael addition reaction. These new crosslinked polymers with various performance properties are obtained from a mixture of AA and TMPTA‐AZ in different ratios and post‐heating. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 104: 809–815, 2007     

Ultraviolet‐induced chain extension of poly(ethylene terephthalate) based on radical reaction with the aid of trimethylolpropane triacrylate and glycidyl methacrylate during extrusion

In order to improve the processing properties of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET), carbon–carbon double bonds were end‐capped onto the chain end of PET by reacting with glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) and then the product was reacted with trimethylolpropane triacrylate (TMPTA) based on a free radical reaction initiated by ultraviolet light to form long‐chain branching structures. The reaction was demonstrated by intrinsic viscosity measurements, carboxyl content analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and size exclusion chromatography. Then the rheological and thermal properties of PET were investigated with various TMPTA and GMA contents. Chain extended PET displayed higher complex viscosity than pristine PET and pronounced shear‐thinning behavior. Moreover, the relaxation time spectrum revealed that the modified PET displayed a longer relaxation time during the relaxation process, which was attributed to the higher degree of entanglements resulting from long‐chain branching. Besides, its crystallization temperature and melt temperature shifted to lower temperatures, and the glass transition temperature shifted to higher temperature, indicating that the thermal properties of the modified PET had also been improved. Thus this method can be used to improve the overall properties of PET. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry     

Covalent attachment of chromophores to chlorinated copolymers for optical waveguides: Synthesis and optical characterization

Polymeric optical devices are attracting increasing interest in the field of photonics because of the very appealing performances as structures for both propagating and modulating light signals according to the properties of the employed organic materials. This paper reports the preparation and characterization of low-loss polymer waveguides fabricated from chlorinated copolymers by photochemical crosslinking. A novel monomer derived from reaction between glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) and the chromophore Disperse Red 19 (DR19) was prepared and successfully copolymerized with GMA and chlorostyrene (CS) to obtain the dye-modified copolymer. The latter was crosslinked by photoinitiated polymerization of the pendant epoxy groups, to obtain stable polymeric waveguides. It was found that the major product of the reaction between GMA and DR19 was formed through transesterification of the methacrylate with elimination of glycidol, while traces of products deriving from the epoxy ring-opening reaction were detected. The presence of the nitro substituent on DR19 favoured chain-transfer reactions during the polymerization reaction, leading to a decrease in the polymerization degree. It was also observed that the presence of grafted DR19 negatively affected the crosslinking reaction, as a lower epoxy group conversion was observed for the modified copolymer. Thermal analysis showed increased thermal stability for the copolymer containing DR19. m-line spectroscopy was used to measure the refractive index at 632.8 nm. The experimental results confirm that the new class of chlorine-based polymeric materials represent a very attractive proposal in the panorama of materials employed in the fabrication of electro-optical devices for telecommunication applications.     

D301树脂的胺基化改性及其对AuCl4-的吸附性能

以D301树脂表面的胺基与过硫酸铵构成氧化-还原引发体系,将单体甲基丙烯酸缩水甘油酯(GMA)接枝聚合到D301树脂表面,制得接枝材料D301-g-PGMA;通过聚甲基丙烯酸缩水甘油酯(PGMA)分子链上的环氧基团与乙二胺中胺基的开环反应,实现接枝材料的胺基化改性,制得吸附材料D301-g-APGMA,考察了接枝聚合条件对接枝率的影响及胺基化反应条件对胺基含量的影响,对材料的结构进行了表征,研究了其对AuCl4-的吸附性能. 结果表明,在GMA用量10 mL、过硫酸铵为单体质量的1.5%及40℃条件下反应18 h, PGMA接枝率达41.15%. 胺基化改性时,在90℃下反应8 h,D301-g-PGMA上环氧键的开环率达91.67%. 改性后D301-g-APGMA对AuCl4-的吸附能力比D301树脂有较大提升,吸附容量达276.74 mg/g. D301-g-APGMA具有良好的再生与重复使用性能.     

Ecofriendly Autoxidation of Castor Oil/Ricinoleic Acid. Multifunctional Macroperoxide Initiators for Multi Block/Graft Copolymers

Ecofriendly autoxidation is a reaction of air oxygen with unsaturated organic molecules at room temperature. Castor oil and ricinoleic acid were ecofriendly autoxidized for 5 months to obtain castor oil macroperoxide with a Mn of 1935 g mol⁻¹ (Pcast5m) and the ricinoleic acid macroperoxide initiator (Prici5m) with a Mn of 1169 g mol⁻¹. Peroxide groups thermally initiated the free radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA), n-butyl methacrylate (nBMA), and styrene (S). Peroxide formation in the oxidized castor oil and ricinoleic acid was confirmed using iodometric analysis, elemental analysis, and differential scanning calorimetry technique. Peroxide decomposition in both macroperoxide initiators was observed at 166 °C for Prici5m and 170 °C for Pcast5m. Hydroxyl groups of Pcast5m were reacted with methacryloyl chloride to obtain methacrylated castor oil macroperoxide (PcastMA). The polymerization rates of the obtained macroinitiators were compared. The polymerization rate order is Pcast5m > Prici5m > PcastMA. Polymerization of styrene by PcastMA resulted in an increase in molar masses and an increase in the polymerization time while those of the styrene polymerization by Pcast5m and Prici5m remained constant. Carboxylic acid groups were reacted with amine-terminated polyethylene glycol (PEG), polydimethyl siloxane (PDMS), and polytetrahydrofuran (PTHF) while the hydroxyl functionality initiated the ring-opening polymerization of ε-caprolactone (CL). Prici-PEG-PMMA, Prici-PS-PDMS, Prici-PS-PTHF, Pcast-PS-PCL, Pcast-PCL-PMMA, and Pcast-PS-PnBMA multiblock copolymers were prepared and characterized using spectrometric, thermal, and stress–strain measurement techniques.     

Mechanistic study of the formation of amphiphilic core-shell particles by grafting methyl methacrylate from polyethylenimine through emulsion polymerization

The mechanism for the formation of amphiphilic core-shell particles in water is elucidated via a kinetic study of semi-batch polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) grafted from polyethylenimine (PEI) initiated with tert-butyl hydroperoxide in an emulsion polymerization. The monomer conversion, the polymerization kinetics, the particle size, the particle number density, the poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) core diameter, the percentage of unbound PEI, and the grafting efficiency of PMMA were determined at various times during the polymerization. The particle number density and the percentage of unbound PEI were almost independent of the controllable variables. The particle sizes and the core diameters increased with each consecutive batch of monomer addition, while the grafting efficiency of PMMA decreased. These data supported the hypothesis that the PEI-g-PMMA graft copolymers were formed early in the polymerization and later self-assembled to a new phase, micellar microdomains. These microdomains act as loci for subsequent MMA polymerization as the monomer is fed into the reaction, without subsequent formation of new particles. The size of the resulting highly uniform core-shell particles (99-147 nm) can be controlled by choosing the amount of monomer charged. Thus, this polymerization method is viable for a large scale production of core-shell particles with high solids content.     

Preparation of iminodiacetic acid-type composite chelating material IDAA-PGMA/SiO2 and preliminary studies on adsorption behavior of heavy metal ions and rare earth ions

A kind of iminodiacetic acid (IDAA)-type composite chelating materials was prepared by first graft polymerization and subsequent polymer reaction. Monomer glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) was grafted on micron-sized silica gel particles in the manner of “graft through” in a solution polymerization system, resulting in the grafted particles poly(glycidyl methacrylate) (PGMA)/silicon dioxide (SiO₂). Subsequently, the ring-opening reaction of the epoxy groups of the grafted PGMA was carried out with IDAA as reaction reagent, resulting in the bonding of IDAA groups onto PGMA/SiO₂ and obtaining the composite chelating material IDAA-PGMA/SiO₂ particles. The effects of the main factors on the graft polymerization of GMA and the bonding reaction of IDAA were examined emphatically, and the adsorption behavior of IDAA-PGMA/SiO₂ particles toward several kinds of heavy metal ions and rare earth ions was preliminarily explored. The experiments results show that: (a) to obtain the grafted particles PGMA/SiO₂ with high grafting degree, in the graft polymerization step, the reaction temperature and the used amount of initiator should be controlled. The suitable temperature is 70°C and the appropriate used amount of initiator is 1.4 % of the monomer mass. Under the optimal conditions, the grafted degree of PGMA can reach 17.50 g/100 g. (b) It is feasible to introducing of IDAA groups onto PGMA/SiO₂ particles via ring-opening reaction of epoxy groups of the grafted PGMA under alkaline conditions, and the bonding rate of IDAA group can get up to 70% based on epoxy groups of the grafted PGMA. (c)The composite chelating material IDAA-PGMA/SiO₂ possesses very strong chelating adsorption ability for heavy metal ions, and especially toward Pb²⁺ ion, the adsorption capacity can reach 24 g/100 g. (d) The adsorption ability of IDAA-PGMA/SiO₂ for rare earth ions is weaker than that for heavy metal ions. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012     

Poly(polyethylene glycol methyl ether methacrylate) as novel solid-solid phase change material for thermal energy storage

Poly(polyethylene glycol methyl ether methacrylate) as novel solid–solid phase change materials (PCMs) for thermal energy storage was prepared via the facile bulk polymerization of polyethylene glycol methyl ether methacrylate and was characterized by Fourier transform infrared, ¹³C-NMR, X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry, and thermogravimetric analysis measurements. Based on the results, it is indicated that the poly (polyethylene glycol methyl ether methacrylate) as novel PCM showed solid–solid properties with suitable transition temperature, high transition enthalpy, and good thermal stability, which was apt to crystallize due to the flexibility of long polyether side chain. This novel PCMs have advantages for the potential application in energy storage. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012     

聚丙烯酸酯增韧改性环氧树脂的研究

以丙烯酸正丁酯(BA)、甲基丙烯酸甲酯(MMA)及甲基丙烯酸缩水甘油酯(GMA)为单体通过悬浮聚合反应合成了共聚物P(MMA-BA-GMA)简称(PMBG),采用傅里叶红外光谱仪、核磁共振波谱仪、凝胶渗透色谱仪对PMBG的结构与组成进行了表征。采用合成的PMBG对环氧树脂(DER663)/固化剂(HTP-305)体系进行增韧改性,研究了PMBG含量对体系力学性能和热性能的影响,并通过扫描电镜(SEM)对固化物断面的微观结构进行了分析。结果表明:PMBG改性后的环氧树脂冲击强度及断裂伸长率提高,当PMBG的质量分数为5%时,冲击强度显著提高,增韧改性效果最好,并且对体系的玻璃化转变温度(Tg)影响不大;共聚物在体系固化时发生微相分离,因而提高了环氧树脂的韧性。     

Synthesis and characterization of poly(butyl acrylate–methyl methacrylate)/polyaniline core–shell latexes

Poly(butyl acrylate–methyl methacrylate) [P(BA–MMA]/polyaniline (PANI) core–shell complex particles were synthesized with a two‐step emulsion polymerization method with P(BA–MMA) as the core and PANI as the shell. The first step was to prepare P(BA–MMA) latex particles as the core via soapless emulsion polymerization. The second step was to prepare P(BA–MMA)/PANI core–shell particles. Sodium dodecyl sulfate was fed into the P(BA–MMA) emulsion as a surfactant, and this was followed by the addition of the aniline monomer. A bilayer structure of the surfactant over the surfaces of the core particles was desired so that the aniline monomer could be attracted near the outer surface of the core particles. In some cases, dodecyl benzene sulfonic acid was added after 2 h when the polymerization of aniline was started. The final product was the desired core–shell particles. The morphology of P(BA–MMA) and P(BA–MMA)/PANI particles was observed with transmission electron microscopy. The thermal properties were studied with thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry. Furthermore, conductive films made from the core–shell latexes were prepared, and the electrical conductivities of the films were studied. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 104: 823–830, 2007     

Pinewood Composite Prepared by In Situ Graft Polymerization of Epoxy Monomer

Composites were prepared by graft polymerization of glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) into low‐quality Brazilian pinewood. Oven‐dried pinewood samples were impregnated with GMA (1.5 wt% of benzoyl peroxide as catalyst), polymerized by heat at 90°C for 10 h, and washed with acetone to leach the unreacted chemicals. The characterization was performed by treatability parameters, scanning electron microscopy images, ATR‐IR spectroscopy, TGA, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), mechanical properties, water uptake and dimensional stability measurements, and decay resistance tests. The main results showed that the conversion of monomers into grafted polymers was high—up to 85%. The graft polymerization was confirmed by reduction (∼15°C lower) in the temperature of the main thermal event via DrTG and DSC. A decrease in OH band and an increase of peaks corresponding to CO and C O bonds in ATR‐IR also confirmed the grafting. The hygroscopicity and wetting were reduced ∼10 times, dimensional stability improved about 70%, and mechanical properties improved between 55 and 85% after the graft polymerization. Decay resistance also increased both against brown and white rot fungi. The graft polymerization of glycidyl methacrylate can improve many technological properties of low‐quality pinewood . POLYM. COMPOS., 38:597–603, 2017. © 2015 Society of Plastics Engineers