Copolymerization of acrylic and methacrylic acids with N-vinylpyrrolidone

The copolymerization of an acidic monomer (acrylic or methacrylic acid) and a basic monomer (N-vinylpyrrolidone) (NVP) is investigated. Various physical measurements revealed a strong molecular interaction between the two monomers. However, the resulting association complex does not seem to control the copolymerization. A slight solvent effect is observed with dimethylformamide for the acrylic acid-NVP system. Methacrylic acid appears to be much more reactive than acrylic acid in its copolymerization with NVP. The results obtained with methacrylic acid-NVP system conflict with earlier published results.