New polymer systems based on polyethylene glycol: synthesis, characterization, and study of the solubility behavior

Recently due to the exclusive rheological properties and a highly branched structure, star-shaped polymers have received more attention. In the first section of the present work, the polyethylene glycol (PEG)-based star-shaped polymer systems were prepared from the reaction of methoxypolyethylene glycols with various molecular weight as arm and trimesoyl chloride (TMC) as a core. The structure of the synthesized star-shaped polymers confirmed using the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and proton nuclear magnetic resonance. The solubility test showed that the synthesized polymers are soluble in water, dimethyl sulfoxide, dimethylformamide, and chlorinated solvents. In the second part of this work, the crosslinked PEGs preparation possibility in the melt state by using the trimesic acid (TMA) and TMC as a crosslinker was investigated. Evaluation of the swelling and solubility behavior of the prepared systems showed that the prepared crosslinked systems with TMA are soluble in most of the organic solvents, while the crosslinked systems with TMC as a crosslinker are insoluble in all of the organic solvents and show the swellability characteristics. From the obtained results it is concluded that the TMC is a better crosslinker for the crosslinking of PEG in the melt state. [GRAPHICS] .