Erythrosine/Triethanolamine System to Elaborate Crosslinked Poly(2‐hydroxyethylmethacrylate): UV‐Photopolymerization and Swelling Studies

Summary A system composed of Erythrosine and Triethanolamine was applied as photo‐initiator for the UV‐photopolymerization of 2‐Hydroxyethyl methacrylate together with a crosslinking agent 1,6‐Hexanediol diacrylate, in aqueous medium. The analysis of UV‐visible and infrared spectra, which were taken at different times during polymerization/crosslinking, makes it possible to obtain useful information on the reaction mechanism. The swelling behavior of these elaborated crosslinked polymer networks in different solvents is examined. It was found that the disappearance of the Erythrosine molecule depends on the nature of the solvent. The theoretical results calculated with the Fick diffusion model show a good correlation with the swelling experiments.