Morphology–composition–processing relationships in poly(methyl methacrylate)–polytriethylene glycol dimethacrylate shrinkage‐controlled blends

An innovative method to control shrinkage in polymer blends, by using N,N-dimethyl-p-toluidine to produce phase separation in an acrylic system, was applied to synthesize polymer blends from polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) and polytriethylene glycol dimethacrylate (PTEGDMA). The morphology of several compositions, as analyzed by scanning electron microscopy, reveals microdomains as a function of the specific composition, in contrast to conventional MMA–TEGDMA copolymers synthesized by thermal decomposition of benzoyl peroxide, used here as reference materials. Micro-Raman and DSC analyses were also carried out to support the electron microscopy results as well. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 91: 1254–1260, 2004