Characteristics of acrylic acid-modified temperature-responsive polymers and application as cement liquid

To reduce the adverse effects of water on the mechanical properties and bonding durability of glass ionomer cements, experimental cements which used a temperature-responsive polymer as the cement liquid were prepared and evaluated in this study. Temperature-responsive copolymers were synthesized using radical polymerization with varying molar ratios of N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) and acrylic acid (AA). It was found that copolymer synthesis with varying ratios of NIPAM and AA was able to modify the lower critical solution temperature to range between 27 and 42°C. Bond strength of the cement prepared from AA/NIPAM copolymer containing 53 mol% AA was better than that prepared from polyacrylic acid (PAA) - the conventional cement liquid. However, compressive strength of the experimental cement was slightly lower than that of PAA cement.