Self-assembly and solid-state photo polymerization of acrylamide crystal film

Solid-state polymerization has many advantages such as solvent-free, environmental friendly, less cost, and high purity of product. In this study, a crystal film of polyacrylamide was synthesized by solid-state polymerization. Firstly, gelatin was used for inducing acrylamide to form monomer crystal film through self-assembly in an aqueous solution. Then, the monomer crystal film underwent a photo-initiating polymerization to give the corresponding polymer crystal film. The structure of the crystal film was confirmed by Fourier-transformed infrared spectrometry, X-ray diffraction, microscopic melting point detector, and differential scanning calorimeter. The morphology was observed with scanning electron microscopy. The molecular weight was measured by gel permeation chromatography. It was found that a well-organized polyacrylamide crystal film was formed by controlling the synthetic conditions. The lattice size of the crystal changed very little before and after polymerization. The crystal film displayed a fibrous shape and was well-organized.