| Abstract: | In a previous study, we prepared a series of xerogels based on sodium acrylate (NaA) and 2‐hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA, OE = 1) or poly(ethylene glycol) methacrylate (PEGMA, OE = 6) with different oxyethylene (OE) units. The effect of the contents of HEMA and PEGMA in the copolymeric gel on the swelling behavior in deionized water and various saline solutions was studied. Their results showed that the water absorbencies for these two series gels were effectively improved by adding a small amount of HEMA or PEGMA. In this article, a series of novel xerogels based on NaA and hydrophilic monomer poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether acrylate (PEGMEAn), which was synthesized from acryloyl chloride and poly(ethylene glycol) monomethyl ether with three oxyethylene (OE = 9, 16, 45) chain lengths, were prepared by inverse suspension polymerization. The effects of OE chain length in the copolymeric gel on the water absorption behavior and initial absorption rate for the present xerogels were investigated. Results showed that adding a small amount of PEGMEAn could effectively increase the water absorbency of the gels. In addition, the water absorbency decreased with an increase of the OE chain length in PEGMEAn. The initial absorption rate for the present copolymeric gels increased with increasing OE chain length in PEGMEAn and the content of PEGMEAn in the copolymeric gels. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 102: 927–934, 2006 |
