Branched and Self-Crosslinkable Poly(methyl methacrylate)s Prepared via One-Pot Synthesis in Aqueous Emulsion

An approach to the synthesis of highly branched vinyl copolymers containing thiol and C=C crosslinking groups is proposed. This method was exemplified by the emulsion copolymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) and 1,6-hexanediol diacrylate (HDDA) with 2-mercaptoethyl sulfide (MES) as chain transfer agent at 70°C with 4,4′-azobis(4-cyanovaleric acid) (ACVA) as the initiator. The resulting highly branched copolymers contain both thiol and acryloyl groups. The apparent M_w (by SEC) of the resulting copolymers increased with increasing ACVA concentration, whereas the pendent acryloyl and -SH groups decreased from 6.4% to 0.8% (relative to MMA units) and 45 ×10^?5 to 5 × 10^?5 mol/g, respectively. The copolymers of MMA could be self-crosslinked thermally or by exposure to UV irradiation. The gel fraction of the thermally treated samples decreased from 46% to 7.2%, with the increasing of ACVA in the polymer synthesis, while the gel fraction of UV irradiated samples changed only slightly around 70%.