Study of swelling process of epoxy networks in solutions of strong electrolytes

Abstract

Consulta en la Biblioteca ETSI Industriales (8226)

[EN] The purpose of this project is principally a study of swelling process of epoxy networks based on commercially available Jeffamines in solutions of strong electrolytes. The work in this kind of studies is because the use of polymeric materials is growing and they are starting to have a very big importance especially in the medical field where they have had a high development. The natural polymers found in living organisms are studied now because they help to develop similar man-made polymeric substances with specific properties and the ability to respond to changes in their environment. These synthetic polymers are potentially very useful for a variety of applications including some related to biotechnology and biomedicine. The most important reason in working in these fields like biomedicine are nowadays the prosthesis, but other plastic replacement parts are being developed, like artificial corneas, sections of artery or heart valves. This kind of materials have to be very deeply studied, putting special attention on the inertness of the polymer, is mechanical properties, and the extent of its biostability, so they could be toxic and produced bad reactions in people. Hydrophilic polymers of epoxy basis have been studied in this project, which most of them are new and have been started to investigate now. With these investigations we can got very interesting results and characteristics for using in future applications. Especially we have worked in polymers swelling, where this characteristic of the networks is very useful because they can absorb a big amount of water in their macromolecular net without dissolving. That is why they are known as hydrogels. Nowadays, most of the hydrogels which already have practical applications, such as contact lenses, are composed of crosslinked networks of hydroxylmethacrylate copolymers which swell when in contact with water. The expanding field will no doubt demand new polymers with specific applications. Before medical use can be considered, a basic description of the hydrogels is needed to check their morphology, structure, mechanical properties, swelling behaviour, etc. In order to check these characteristics, several experimental techniques will be used: Swelling behaviour in toluene, dynamic swelling in distilled water and metallic salt solutions (KBr, KNO3, KCl), equilibrium swelling in metallic salt solutions (KF, KCl, KBr, NaCl, LiCl), Infrared Spectroscopy (IR), Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR).