Synthesis of N,N'-diallylmalonamide and its copolymer gels with acrylic acid and acrylamide

Abstract

N,N'-diallylmalonamide (DAM) has been prepared via classical aminolysis of diethyl malonate with allylamine. Its structure was confirmed by elementary microanalysis as well as 1 H NMR and FT-IR spectroscopy. The new diallyl monomer is water-soluble and able to copolymerize radically with water-soluble monomers, such as acrylamide and acrylic acid, to give transparent hydrogels by using K 2 S 2 O 8 as initiator. Homopolymerization of DAM yields clear hydrogels with high swelling ability.