Solution copolymerizations of 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA), a polar monomer having a hydroxyl group, with 5 mol % (corresponding to 35.7 wt %) heneicosapropylene glycol dimethacrylate (PPGDMA-21), a nonpolar monomer having a poly(oxypropylene) unit, were carried out in MeOH at a dilution of 2/3 in the presence of different amounts of lauryl mercaptan as a chain transfer agent, providing novel amphiphilic vinyl-type network polymers consisting of polar, short primary polymer chains and nonpolar, long cross-link units. The vinyl-type network polymers formed via highly branched prepolymers have abundant dangling chains as their characteristic feature, especially when the primary polymer chain length is short, because both terminal parts of primary polymer chain would be dangling chains. The amphiphilicity of the resulting gels was checked by measuring their swelling ratios in the mixed solvents consisting of nonpolar tert-butylbenzene (t-BB) and polar MeOH; thus, with an increase in the MeOH volume percent, the gels shrank to the smallest swelling ratio at the start point (i.e., in pure t-BB), swelled gradually and then rather sharply beyond 20 vol %, reached the maximum swelling at about 70 vol %, and then shrank gradually up to a rather high swelling ratio at the terminal (i.e., in pure MeOH). The profiles of the solvent component dependencies of the swelling ratios are characteristic of novel amphiphilic gels. The conversion dependency of the characteristic swelling behavior suggests that the response of the gel obtained at an earlier stage of gelation was sharper than that of the gel obtained at a late stage of gelation. The influence of H 2O on the characteristic swelling behavior of resulting amphiphilic gels was examined by measuring their swelling ratios in the mixed solvents consisting of MeOH/H2O or acetone/ H2O in order to collect information about the role of cross-link units on the swelling behavior of amphiphilic gel.

The control of the intermolecular cross-linking reaction in free-radical cross-linking monovinyl/divinyl copolymerizations resulting in amphiphilic network polymers was attempted by the aid of amphiphilic nature of primary polymer chains and cross-link units with opposite polarities. First, benzyl methacrylate (BzMA)/tricosaethylene glycol dimethacrylate (PEGDMA-23) (95/5) copolymerizations in 1,4-dioxane (DO) and DO/H 2O (85/15) mixed solvent were investigated. The assembly of short primary polymer chains induced the restricted motion of propagating polymer radical, leading to a suppressed increment of molecular weight with conversion. Second, 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA)/henicosapropylene glycol dimethacrylate (PPGDMA-21) (95/5) copolymerizations in DO, DO/H 2O (80/20) mixture, and DO/H2O (70/30) mixture were explored. The assembly of nonpolar cross-link units led to an enhanced occurrence of intermolecular cross-linking reaction. Moreover, the assembly of polar primary polymer chains consisting of poly(HEMA) in DO suppressed the cross-linking reaction as is the case with BzMA/PEGDMA-23 (95/5) copolymerizations. Then, the solvent effect on gelation was generalized by using various solvents. Especially, our attention was focused on acetonitrile (ACN) and N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) as solvents because the resulting gel in HEMA/PPGDMA-21 (95/5) copolymerization swelled in DMF but shrank in ACN despite almost the same solubility parameters for both solvents. Thus, both primary polymer chains and cross-link units of amphiphilic prepolymers would not assemble in DMF, whereas primary polymer chains having hydroxyl groups would assemble in ACN. The assembly of short primary polymer chains in ACN led to a suppressed increment of molecular weight with conversion as a reflection of the restricted motion of propagating polymer radical. Conclusively, the assembly of short primary polymer chains suppressed the occurrence of intermolecular cross-linking reaction, whereas the assembly of long cross-link units promoted it.

Novel amphiphilic network polymers consisting of nonpolar, short primary polymer chains and polar, long crosslink units were prepared, and the swelling behavior of resulting amphiphilic gels is discussed by focusing on the influence of characteristic dangling chains; that is, benzyl methacrylate (BzMA) was copolymerized with tricosaethylene glycol dimethacrylate [CH2C(CH3)CO(OCH2CH2)23OCOC(CH3)CH2, PEGDMA‐23] in the presence of lauryl mercaptan as a chain‐transfer agent because BzMA forms nonpolar, short primary polymer chains and PEGDMA‐23 as a crosslinker contains a polar, long poly(oxyethylene) unit. The enhanced incorporation of dangling chains into the network polymer was brought by shortening the primary polymer chain length, and copolymerization with methoxytricosaethylene glycol methacrylate, a mono‐ene counterpart of PEGDMA‐23, enforced the incorporation of flexible dangling poly(oxyethylene) chains into the network polymer, although the former dangling chains as terminal parts of primary poly(BzMA) chains were rather rigid. Then, the influence of characteristic dangling chains on the swelling behavior of amphiphilic gels was examined in mixed solvents consisting of nonpolar t‐butylbenzene and polar methanol. The profiles of the solvent‐component dependencies of the swelling ratios were characteristic of amphiphilic gels. The introduction of dangling poly(oxyethylene) chains led not only to an increased swelling ratio but also to sharpened swelling behavior of amphiphilic gels. The swelling response of amphiphilic gels was checked by changing the external solvent polarity. The dangling chains with freely mobile end segments influenced the swelling response of gels. The amphiphilic gels with less entangled, collapsed crosslink units exhibited faster swelling response than the ones with more entangled, collapsed primary polymer chains. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 2192–2201, 2004