Insight into the preparation, modification, and thermal characterization of porous poly(GMA-co-EGDMA) copolymers

The porous copolymers of 2,3-epoxypropyl methacrylate (GMA) crosslinked with ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) were prepared in the form of regular microspheres by suspension–emulsion polymerization. The value of specific surface area varied from 137 to 26 m2/g depending on the molar ratio of functional monomer to crosslinker. In the next step, the porous methacrylate network was modified by subsequent reaction with pyrrolidone, diethylenetriamine, and 1-(2-hydroxyethyl)-2-pyrrolidone, respectively. These processes slightly changed the internal structure of the modified copolymers. More profound changes were observed in relation to the thermal behavior of the copolymers. They were studied using TG and DSC methods under non-oxidative conditions. It was found that the thermal degradation of the parent copolymers starts with the depolymerization of the glycidyl parts and evolving GMA monomer. The modification process considerably changed the thermal properties of the polymers. After modification, all of the newly obtained materials are more thermally stable. Additionally, the DSC method was employed to assess the sorption ability of the porous copolymers.