ON THE MACROMOLECULAR STRUCTURE AND MOLECULAR ACCESSIBILITY OF SWOLLEN MICROPOROUS RESINS - A COMBINED ESR-ISEC APPROACH

A number of fairly hydrophilic microporous oly{N,N-dimethylacrylamide- methylenebisacrylamide} (cross-linking degree from 1 to 8%) have been examined with two conceptually and experimentally quite independent te chniques that are able to provide information on the macromolecular st ructure and chemical accessibility of these materials in the swollen s tate. Electron spin resonance spectroscopy (ESR) and inverse steric ex clusion chromatography (ISEC) gave quite consistent results in water, which are interpreted on the basis of a physico-mathematical model tha t fits the experimental data nicely. The resulting equation appears as a promising tool in the design of macromolecular materials for chemic al and catalytic applications.