STUDY ON THE PROPERTIES OF POLY(ETHYLENE OXIDE) R\|150 HYDROGEL FILMS FORMED BY IRRADIATION CROSSLINKING

The chemical and physical properties of the PEO R\|150 blend hydrogel films formed by electron beam irradiation of the blending solutions of PEO R\|150 and poly(vinyl alcohol)(PVA) are studied. The experimental results indicate that the crosslinking densities of the PEO R\|150 blend hydrogels increase along with the increase of the irradiation doses and decrease with the increase of the blend mass fractions. While the PVA contents have no obvious effects on the crosslinking densities of the blend hydrogels. The crosslinking densities of the blend bydrogels are obviously lower than those of the pure PVA hydrogels. The equilibrium water contents of the blend hydrogels decrease as the irradiation dose and the PVA contents increase, but they increase as the blend mass fractions increase. The equilibrium water contents of the blend hydrogels are obviously higher than those of the pure PVA hydrogels. The hardness of the PVA hydrogel films increases with the irradiation doses. The hardness of the blend hydrogels decreases with the blend mass fractions, whereas it increases with the PVA contents. The effect of the blend mass fraction on the properties of the blend hydrogels is mainly ralated to the both polymers.\;