Synthesis of Bis-GMA Grafted Co-Polymer of Acrylic–Itaconic Acid and its Composite

This study aims to develop a LED curable composite with higher compressive strength. We are reporting the synthesis of copolymers from acrylic and itaconic acid using simple free radical polymerization technique. The synthesized copolymer (acrylic-co-itaconic acid) was then grafted with bisphenol A-glycidyl methacrylate (Bis-GMA) using conventional condensation polymerization technique. The synthesized and purified copolymer was then characterized using FTIR, DSC, and TGA. We also synthesized glass ionomer powder using well established melt and quench method using various inorganic components, such as, SiO₂, Al₂O₃, CaO, NaF, AlF₃, P₂O₅, and Na₃AlF₆. The synthesized glass ionomer powder was characterized using powder X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopic techniques. Finally, we prepared the copolymer-glass ionomer composite by mixing the grafted copolymer and the glass ionomer with hydroxymethacrylate and camphorquinone. The resultant composite was cured with a LED light (440–480 nm) for 20 s and its surface morphology was studied using scanning electron microscopy. The compressive strength of the developed LED cured composite material and the commercially available Vitrebond (3M ESPE), a resin modified glass ionomer was compared using Universal Tensile Machine. It was found that the developed composite is 35% more strong in terms of compressive strength as compared to Vitrebond (3M ESPE).