Photocurable coatings prepared by emulsion polymerization present chelating properties

Area of Science:

• Polymer Chemistry
• Materials Science
• Surface Chemistry

Background:

• Metal chelating materials are crucial for various applications, including active packaging.
• Developing facile and scalable methods for synthesizing functional coatings remains a challenge.
• Existing methods may not integrate properties like controlled surface energy and mechanical integrity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a novel method for synthesizing a photocurable metal chelating copolymer coating.
• To enable facile coat/cure preparation of metal chelating materials.
• To demonstrate the integration of metal chelation, photocrosslinking, and controlled surface energy in a single polymer system.

Main Methods:

• Emulsion polymerization was used to synthesize a copolymer containing poly(n-butyl acrylate), iminodiacetic acid, and benzophenone moieties.
• The synthesized copolymer was applied onto polypropylene films and photocured using UV light (365 nm).
• Metal ion chelation capacity and antioxidant activity were evaluated at different pH levels.

Main Results:

• The resulting metal chelating film demonstrated significant activity towards Fe³⁺, with chelation capacities of 10.9 ± 1.9, 47.9 ± 5.3, and 156.0 ± 13.8 nmol/cm² at pH 3.0, 4.0, and 5.0, respectively.
• The film extended the half-life of ascorbic acid degradation from 6 to 20 days at pH 3.0 and from 3 to 6 days at pH 5.0, indicating antioxidant properties.
• The poly(n-butyl acrylate) based coating maintained low surface energy (24.0 mN/m) despite the incorporation of polar chelating groups.

Conclusions:

• The developed photocurable copolymer coating offers a scalable method for producing functional materials with integrated metal chelating and low surface energy properties.
• This technology holds significant potential for applications in antioxidant active packaging, water treatment, trace metal detection, and protein purification.
• The study overcomes a knowledge gap by demonstrating a versatile approach to designing functional coatings with tailored properties.