Preparation and characterization of polyethylene glycol diacrylate microgels using electron beam radiation

Abstract

Abstract. The use of microemulsion in the development of nanosized gels based on polyethylene glycol diacrylate (PEGDA) is demonstrated. PEGDA was solubilized in n-heptane with use of sodium docusate (AOT) at 0.15M concentration to form reverse micelles. These micelles were than irradiated at 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 kGy using electron beam (EB) to crosslink the entrapped polymer in the micelles. Ionizing radiation was imparted to the emulsions to generate crosslinking reaction in the micelles formed. The nanosized gels were evaluated in terms of particle diameter using dynamic light scattering (DLS) and the images of the nanosized gels were studied using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Results show that the size and shape of the particles are influenced by concentration of PEGDA and radiation dose. This study showed that this method can be utilized to produce nanosized gels.