Relationships between morphology, swelling, mechanical properties of PDMS/PAAc sequential IPNs

A limitation in the use of hydrophilic polymers as implantable devices is their inherently poor mechanical strength. Using the interpenetrating polymer networks (IPNs) consisting of both hydrophilic and hydrophobic networks is an effective method to strengthen these polymers. In this work, A series of poly(acrylic acid) (PAAc) / poly(dimethyl siloxane) (PDMS) sequential IPNs was synthesized and the polymerization kinetics of acrylic acid in the presence of ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as crosslinker was investigated. The results from conversion measurements revealed the occurrence of gel effect during acryli acid polymerization. The produced IPNs properties including swelling, morphological, and mechanical properties were also investigated.

Keywords:

PDMS , interpenetrating polymer networks (IPNs) , swelling , morphology