A new‐style poly(vinyl alcohol) gel prepared by automatic hydrolysis of poly(vinyl acetate) emulsion

ABSTRACT Totally different from traditional poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) gel preparation methods, a new‐style PVA gel was prepared by automatic hydrolysis of a poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc) emulsion during storage. First, a PVAc emulsion was obtained using potassium persulfate and sodium bisulfite as redox initiators in the presence of ferrous chloride. Ferrous chloride is helpful for reducing the redox polymerization temperature. The PVAc emulsion was sealed in a bottle for storage at room temperature. As time went on, it was found that a gel was slowly formed during the storage process. Research showed that a hydrolysis reaction slowly occurs and a crosslinked structure forms, and finally a PVA gel can be obtained. The mechanism for the formation of PVA gel was carefully investigated using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and NMR. It was found that ferrous chloride has an important role not only in reducing the polymerization temperature, but also in catalyzing the automatic hydrolysis process of PVAc to form the PVA gel in this system. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018 , 135 , 46853.