Side chain length impacting thermal transitions and water uptake of acrylate–maleimide copolymers with pendent catechols

Abstract

To elucidate how T_g affects adhesion of synthetic polymers containing pendent catechols, a series of poly(acrylate-r-(1-[2-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)ethyl]-maleimides)) (PAMs) have been synthesized that vary in their acrylate side chain length. During characterization, a thermal transition was observed that over-rode the anticipated trends in T_g. Careful material handling and analysis using TGA-MS techniques led to the realization that water absorption is an intrinsic characteristic of this class of polymer and must be considered as applications are developed.