Abstract

Photocatalytic synthesis of 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate/Butylacrylate (HEMA/BuA) copolymer and its metal complexes

Author(s): Hossam A.El-Nazer, Samira T.Rabie, Hesham A.El Meleegy, Mahmoud A.Abdel-Ghaffar, Afaf A.Nada

Photo-induced copolymerization of 2-hydroxyethylmethacrylate (HEMA) and Butyl acrylate (BuA) initiated by nano-TiO2 semiconductors were studied. The heterogeneous copolymerizations were carried out by dispersing TiO2 particles into HEMA/BuA aqueous solutions using various monomer concentrations, for different irradiation times. The obtained copolymer was complexed with copper and iron as transition metals. The copolymer and its complexes were characterized using various tools, such as elemental analysis, and FTIR spectroscopy. Thermogravimetric analysis and conductivity measurements of both the copolymer and its complexes were also carried out. Antibacterial activity of both the copolymer and the complexes was investigated. Mechanism of photocatalytic polymerization was illustrated. The results of thermogravimetric analysis and conductivity measurements have shown that the thermal stability was improved and a good electrical conductivity was obtained for the copolymer complexes compared with the non-complexed one. Copolymer complexes, in particular the Cu-one showed high antibacterial activity.