The New Approach to the Preparation of Polyacrylamide-Based Hydrogels: Initiation of Polymerization of Acrylamide with 1,3-Dimethylimidazolium (Phosphonooxy-)Oligosulphanide under Drying Aqueous Solutions

The new initiator of the polymerization of acrylamide, leading to the formation of crosslinked polyacrylamide, was discovered. The structure of the synthesized polyacrylamide was characterized by XRD, H-1 NMR, and C-13 NMR spectroscopy. It was shown that 1,3-dimethylimidazolium (phosphonooxy-)oligosulphanide is able to initiate radical polymerization under drying aqueous solutions of acrylamide, even at room temperature. According to XRF data, the synthesized polyacrylamide gel contains 0.28 wt% of sulphur. The formed polymer network has a low crosslinking density and a high equilibrium degree of swelling. The swelling rate of polyacrylamide gel in water corresponds to the first order kinetic equation with the rate constant 6.2 x 10(-2) min(-1). The initiator is promising for combining acrylamide polymerization with the processes of gel molding and drying.