Cyclic polymers were embedded in crosslinked polymer networks to enable investigations on the properties of the resulting materials. The zwitterionic ring-opening polymerization of 2-isoproxy-1,3,2-dioxophospholane 2-oxide (iPP) with N-heterocyclic carbenes afforded cyclic poly(phosphotriesters) c-p(iPP) with molecular weights of Mn = 144 kDa. These cyclic polymers were entrapped in a poly(hydroxyethylmethacrylate) p(HEMA) hydrogels by carrying out the free-radical polymerization of HEMA in the presence of a dimethacrylate crosslinker and various amounts of cyclic and linear p(iPP). Spectroscopic (FT-IR) and extraction studies revealed that the cyclic p(iPP)s were entrapped in the crosslinked p(HEMA) networks whereas the majority of the linear p(iPP) was extracted from the gels. The resulting hydrogels could be swelled in water to generate novel double network hydrogels.

Synthesis and properties of cylic polyphosphoesters physically trapped in crosslinked gels

248th National Meeting (2014)

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