Synthesis of Hydrophilic and Amphiphilic Acryl Sucrose Monomers and Their Copolymerisation with Styrene, Methylmethacrylate and α- and β-Pinenes

• Main Authors: Maria Teresa Barros, Krasimira T. Petrova, Raj P. Singh
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2010-04-01
• Series: International Journal of Molecular Sciences
• Subjects: vinyl sucrose ester monomers; biodegradable copolymers; free radical copolymerization; biodegradation culture test
• Online Access: http://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/11/4/1792/
• ISSN: 1422-0067

Herein, we report the synthesis of monomethacryloyl sucrose esters, and their successful free radical homo- and co-polymerisation with styrene, methylmethacrylate, α- and β-pinene. The chemical, physical, structural and surface chemical properties of these polymers, containing a hydrophobic olefin backbone and hydrophilic sugar moieties as side chains, have been investigated. Biodegradation tests of the copolymer samples by a microbial fungal culture (Aspergillus niger) method showed good biodegradability. The chemical structure and surface chemistry of the synthesized homo- and co-polymers demonstrate their potential technological relevance as amphiphilic and biodegradable polymers.