A New Route for High-Purity Organic Materials: High-Pressure- Ramp-Induced Ultrafast Polymerization of 2-(Hydroxyethyl) Methacrylate

作者：Evlyukhin E; Museur L^*; Traore M; Perruchot C; Zerr A; Kanaev A

来源：Scientific Reports, 2015, 5(1): 18244.

DOI：10.1038/srep18244

The synthesis of highly biocompatible polymers is important for modern biotechnologies and medicine. Here, we report a unique process based on a two-step high-pressure ramp (HPR) for the ultrafast and efficient bulk polymerization of 2-(hydroxyethyl)methacrylate (HEMA) at room temperature without photo- and thermal activation or addition of initiator. The HEMA monomers are first activated during the compression step but their reactivity is hindered by the dense glass-like environment. The rapid polymerization occurs in only the second step upon decompression to the liquid state. The conversion yield was found to exceed 90% in the recovered samples. The gel permeation chromatography evidences the overriding role of HEMA(2)'' biradicals in the polymerization mechanism. The HPR process extends the application field of HP-induced polymerization, beyond the family of crystallized monomers considered up today. It is also an appealing alternative to typical photo- or thermal activation, allowing the efficient synthesis of highly pure organic materials.

• 出版日期2015-12-16