Etude de l’influence de la masse macromoléculaire du polyéthylène-glycol sur les propriétés thermo-mécaniques de poly-HydroxylEthyle-Méthacrylate.

Abstract

This study aims to advance the characterization of composites using hydroxyl-éthyleméthacrylate (HEMA) as the matrix and polyéthylène glycol (PEG) as an additive. The composites were developed through photo-polymerization using HDDA as a cross-linking agent and Darocur 1173 as a photoinitiator. The main objective is to evaluate the impact of PEG content and molecular weight on the thermo-mechanical properties of the HEMA-based composite. Analytical techniques used include FTIR spectroscopy, DSC differential calorimetry, DMA dynamic mechanical analysis, and a rheology to analyze these properties in detail. The swelling and deswelling behavior of HEMA networks in distilled water is studied over time. The results obtained through these analytical techniques are in good agreement. A significant decrease in the glass transition temperature (Tg) was observed with increasing PEG quantity in the composite, confirming its plasticizing effect. It was found that PEG-6000 improves the thermo-mechanical properties of the composites better than PEG400. DMA, swelling study, and rheology results show a threshold effect at 1 wt.% for PEG-6000 and 5 wt.% for PEG-400.