Synthesis and Property of Butyl Methacrylate-Butyl Acrylate-Acrylic Acid Terpolymer With Absorptive Capacity

Abstract

Butyl methacrylate-butyl acrylate-acrylic acid terpolymer was synthesized by suspension polymerization with benzoyl peroxide as an initiator and poly(vinyl alcohol) as a dispersing agent to absorb organic liquids, and then the terpolymer was modified to absorb distilled water, NaCl aqueous solution, and toxic metal ions by swelling in isopropyl alcohol and hydrolysis in sodium hydroxide aqueous solution. The morphology changes during the liquid absorption process were observed via a polarizing light microscope. The thermostabilities of the original and modified terpolymers were tested in a thermogravimetric analyzer. The test results indicated that the unmodified terpolymer could absorb a certain amount of toluene, trichloroethylene or tetrachloroethylene to become a swollen system, and its remaining (residual) ratio was more than 75% after absorbing the organic liquids for 24 h. The modified terpolymer not only had a marked capacity to absorb distilled water and NaCl aqueous solution, but also showed a significant absorption of toxic metal ions; e.g., its saturated absorbency of Cu2+ could reach 421.0 mg/g. The morphology changes demonstrated that the modified terpolymer could be swollen in distilled water, forming a gel-like structure. The results obtained from thermogravimetric analysis revealed that the thermal stability of the modified terpolymer was better than that of the unmodified terpolymer.