ABSTRACT

Solvent-free cationic copolymerisation of eugenol and N,N’-methylene bis(acrylamide) (MBA) was conducted with different MBA compositions, i.e., 2%, 4% and 6%. The copolymerisation was performed using an H₂SO₄ initiator in a nitrogen atmosphere at room temperature (28°C–30°C). The structure of the obtained product, copoly-(eugenol−N,N‘-methylene bis(acrylamide) or PEMBA, was identified by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and ¹H NMR spectroscopy. The average relative molecular mass (M_v) of PEMBA was determined by viscometer tools at a constant temperature (28°C). The morphology of PEMBA was characterised by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The thermal properties of PEMBA were analysed using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). A comparative analysis of the FTIR spectra of PEMBA with eugenol and MBA demonstrated the loss of absorption characteristics of the vinyl group around 995 c^–1. It was strengthened by the loss of the ¹H NMR signal for the vinyl proton at δ = 5.5–7.0 ppm and the appearance of a proton signal from the Csp³ bond at δ = 0.7–1.3 ppm. Based on the viscosity calculation, it was found that the M_v of PEMBA 2%, 4% and 6% were 23543 g mol^–1, 19098 g mol^–1 and 12904 g mol^–1, respectively. An SEM examination of PEMBA showed amorphous chunks of irregular shapes and sizes. Thermal analysis showed that the glass transition temperature (T_g) of PEMBA tended to decrease with an increase in the MBA concentration, but on the other hand, both the melting point (T_m) and the crystallisation temperature (T_c) shifted to higher temperatures.

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