Ampoule Polymerization of PAA and PIA: Kinetic Studies

Poly (acrylic acid) (PAA) and Poly (itaconic acid) (PIA) are the main parts of dental glass-ionomers. Ampoule technique is one of the best methods to study their polymerization kinetics. The kinetics of AA and IA solution polymerization were studied under various polymerization conditions using gravimetric method and GPC test. The effect of initiator concentration and the initial pH (pHi) were investigated, the optimum pHis for PAA and PIA were achieved which were 2.5 and 2, respectively. The kinetic studies and GPC results showed that the polymerization rate and molecular weight (Mw) of PAA is much higher than that of the PIA.