A benzophenone-bearing acid oligodimethacrylate and its application to the preparation of silver/gold nanoparticles/polymer nanocomposites

The synthesis of photosensitive urethane dimethacrylate that contains poly(ethylene oxide) sequence (PEG, Mw: 400), carboxylic and benzophenone moieties, and its characterization by specific methods (1H and 13C NMR, FTIR, UV and electrospray ionization-mass spectroscopy) are reported. UV curing parameters of this macromer (BP-UDMA) alone and in monomer combinations was evaluated through FTIR spectroscopy and photo-differential scanning calorimetry using 1 wt% 4-(dimethylamino)phenylacetic acid as co-initiator or Irgacure 819 (Irg819). The results show that the photopolymerization rates of the BP-UDMA are higher in the case of Irg819 (RmaxP: 0.108 s−1) due to its synergic action, whereas the degree of conversion of C=C double bond (DC, after 120 s of UV irradiation) is over 77 %. When other co-monomers (non-acid urethane dimethacrylate and silyl urea methacrylate) are incorporated into the formulation, the photopolymerization rate (0.095–0.132 s−1) and DC (84.59–79.69 %) varied in reasonable limits. Depending of the photoinitiator type, as well as the monomer composition, the addition of 0.5, 1 and 3 wt% noble metal precursors (AgNO3 and AuBr3) led to the formation of hybrid composites with in situ-synthesized nanoparticles (NPs), where the variations in the intensity of the surface plasmon absorption bands appeared in the range 400–456 nm (Silver) or 500–553 nm (Gold), better results being obtained in the first initiating system. Homogeneous dispersion of nanoparticles into the polymer matrix was evidenced by EDX and TEM analysis, the last proving the existence of nanoparticles with sizes around 10 nm and variable morphologies. X-ray diffraction analysis complemented these results.