Copolymerization of Methacrylic Acid and N-Vinylpyrrolidone in Aqueous Solution

The monomer reactivity ratios for the copolymerization of methacrylic acid (MA) and N-vinylpyrrolidone (NVP) in aqueous media at 30°C were determined as a function of pH (range 2-10), by use of both the modified differential (YBR) and integrated copolymerization equation to process the data at high conversions (< 70% by weight). The reactivity ratio r₁ (for MA) ranges from 0.92 to 8.3 and that for NVP (r₂) is very small except at pH 7 and 8. The ri values show two minima: 2.9 at pH 4 and 0.92 at pH 8, nearly corresponding to the pKa values of the monomer MA and the polymer, respectively. Addition of 1 M sodium chloride results in an increase of n values, and the values are still lower than those of the undissoeiated acid. The trend of r_xwith pH is seen to follow that of the homopolymerization behavior of MA reported in the literature. The r₁ and r₂ are of the same order as those obtained in dimethylformamide in the literature.