Approaches to the controlled formation of network polymers: 2. Studies of hybrid crosslinking agents

Polyacrylamide networks incorporating hybrid crosslinking agents in which a mide and ester functional moieties form part of the vinylic structure have a higher degree of porosity than the more conventional systems as evidenced by electrophoresis and overswelling studies. The increase of porosity may be attributed to two mechanisms of network formation; star or non-star type , which are determined by the reactivity of the vinylic groups present with in the monomer structure. The experimental results are in good a,agreement with the theoretical predictions. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.