Alternating copolymerization of N-benzylidine aniline (NBA) with α-haloacrylic acids (XAA). IV. Synthesis,characterization, and kinetics

This article describes a new, spontaneous, 1:1 alternating copolymerization between a Schiff base, N-benzylidine aniline (NBA), and α-haloacrylic acids (XAA) such as α-chloroacrylic acid (ClAA) and α-bromoacrylic acid (BrAA). The structure of the copolymers was identified by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and infrared (IR) spectra. By using the isolation method we determined the order of each monomer. On the basis of kinetic studies, a mechanism that involves initiation, propagation, and termination by zwitterion is proposed. The effects of copolymerization under various conditions were studied and the intrinsic viscosity and number-average molecular weight were measured. The overall energy of activation, E_Rp, for the copolymerization was determined and thermal degradation studies were made.