THE EFFECT OF SYNTHESIS CONDITIONS ON THE PROPERTIES OF POLY(2-HYDROXYETHYL METHACRYLATE) SPONGES

A brief review of the present knowledge of hydrophilic poly(2-hydroxye thyl methacrylate) sponges is followed by an experimental study confir ming that phase separation and subsequent chemical gelation (due to cr osslinking) have crucial roles in the formation of sponges. Time onset s of the two processes were estimated by indirect methods, spectrophot ometry and rheometry, respectively. Environmental scanning electron mi croscopy suggested that the mechanical properties of sponges are signi ficantly influenced by the porous morphology.