Boundary effect on the thermal degradation of copolymers

The mechanism of thermal degradation of vinyl-type copolymers at high temperatures was investigated theoretically and experimentally. A parameter β was proposed to account for the boundary effect. Values of β for acrylonitrile–styrene and methyl methacrylate–styrene copolymers were determined experimentally. It was ascertained that the value of β was independent of the distribution of monomer sequence lengths in a copolymer, but dependent on the pyrolysis temperature and on the nature of the copolymer. The boundary effect is attributed to differences in the dissociation energies of C? C bonds connecting terminal monomer units to adjacent monomer units in copolymer chain radicals.     

Alternating copolymerization through the complexes of conjugated vinyl monomers–alkylaluminum halides

A vinyl monomer that has the nitrile or carbonyl group conjugated to the C?C double bond, such as acrylonitrile, methyl acrylate, and methyl methacrylate, forms a complex with an alkylaluminum halide, and the complex reacts spontaneously with a hydrocarbon monomer such as styrene, propylene, or ethylene, giving a high molecular weight copolymer. The copolymers always contain the two monomer units in 1:1 ratio. Thus styrene, copolymerized with methyl acrylate or methyl methacrylate in the presence of ethylaluminum sesquichloride in homogeneous toluene solution, gives such an equimolar copolymer regardless of the initial monomer compositions. The NMR spectra of these copolymers are distinctly different from those of the equimolar copolymers obtained with azobisisobutyronitrile as initiator and have simpler and well separated patterns. The copolymers and the corresponding radical copolymers appear to be amorphous, judged by their x-ray diffraction patterns and their differential thermal analyses. Their infrared spectra resemble each other very closely. Hence, the difference in the NMR spectra may be ascribed to the matter of the sequence distribution. The infrared spectrum of ethylene–methyl acrylate copolymer shows no absorption near 720 cm.^?1 due to the methylene sequence arising from ethylene–ethylene linkage. These experimental data lead to the inference that the equimolar copolymers obtained in this work may have an alternating sequence.     

Polymerization of coordinated monomers. XVIII. Sequence distribution in methyl acrylate–styrene copolymers prepared in the presence of zinc chloride

Methyl acrylate and styrene have been copolymerized in the presence of zinc chloride either by photoinitiation or spontaneously. The copolymerization mechanism is investigated by analyses of copolymers composition and monomer sequence distribution. The resulting copolymers are not always alternating, their composition being dependent especially on the monomer feed ratio. Appreciable deviation to higher methyl acrylate unit content from an equimolar composition occurs at monomer feed fractions of methyl acrylate over 0.7. The larger deviation is induced by higher temperature, by photoirradiation, and by greater dilution of the reaction mixture with toluene. The ¹³C-NMR spectrum of the alternating copolymer shows a sharp singlet at the carbonyl region, whereas the spectra of random copolymers prepared by benzoyl peroxide initiation at 60°C show a triplet splitting at the carbonyl carbon region, irrespective of copolymer composition. The relative intensities of the triplet peaks for the random copolymers are in good correspondence to the contents of triad sequences calculated by means of conventional radical copolymerization theory. These results clearly indicate that the carbonyl splitting is caused predominantly by variation of the monomer sequence and not by variation of the stereosequence. The monomer sequence distribution in the copolymers is thus directly and quantitatively measured from the split carbonyl resonance. Although the same triplet splitting appears in the spectra of methyl acrylate–rich copolymers prepared in the presence of zinc chloride at high feed ratios (>0.7) of methyl acrylate, the relative intensities of the split peaks do not fit the sequence distributions of random copolymers calculated by means of the Lewis–Mayo equation. The copolymerization yielding these peculiar sequences and the alternating sequence in the presence of zinc chloride is fully comprehended by a copolymerization mechanism proceeding between two active coordinated monomers, i.e., the ternary molecular complex composed of zinc chloride, methyl methacrylate, and styrene, and the binary molecular complex composed of zinc chloride and methyl methacrylate.     

从乙烯与丙烯酸二茂铁甲酰氧基乙酯共聚物制备碳纳米材料

使用乙烯和丙烯酸二茂铁甲酰氧基乙酯(FcEA)为单体,合成了乙烯与丙烯酸二茂铁基乙酯共聚物[P(E-co-FcEA)].以P(E-co-FcEA)作为前驱体,通过改变裂解条件,自催化制得系列碳纳米材料.     

Synthesis of 2-phenoxy-2-phenylethyl acrylate and copolymerization with 2-phenylethyl acrylate: Estimation of monomer reactivity ratios,thermal and optical properties

A new aromatic based monomer 2-phenoxy-2-phenylethyl acrylate (PPEA) was synthesized. Copolymers of PPEA with 2-phenylethyl acrylate (PEA) were prepared by free radical polymerization. The reactivity ratios were estimated using various graphical methods. Structural parameters of the copolymers were obtained by calculating the dyad monomer sequence fractions and the mean sequence length. Optical properties of polymers such as refractive indices and UV-Visible absorption were investigated. The glass transition temperature and thermal degradation behavior of the copolymers were studied. Combined with the RI, transparency and thermal properties, prepared copolymers hold great promise as materials for intraocular lens applications.     

Identification of acrylate copolymers using pyrolysis and gas chromatography

A combination of pyrolysis and gas chromatography were used to investigate thermal degradation products formed from acrylic copolymers containing alkyl acrylate and methacrylate. The method provided an analytical tool for characterizing the chemical composition and structure of the degradation products. Thermal degradation of the synthesized copolymers was analyzed using isothermal (250 °C) pyrolysis–gas chromatography. The degradation process, and the nature and amount of pyrolysis products, provides relevant information about the thermal degradation of acrylic copolymers and the mechanism of pyrolysis. During pyrolysis, the formation of corresponding olefins, alcohols, acrylates and methacrylate was observed.     

Thermal degradation and microstructure of vinyl copolymers. A mathematical model

A mathematical model is presented for the thermal degradation of monosubstituted vinyl copolymers. The model is based on a relatively simple radical mechanism, proved valid for several polymers including polypropylene, poly(methyl acrylate) and polystyrene. The aim of the modelling is to obtain information about the sequence distribution of the copolymers and about the reactions during decomposition. The theoretical and experimental product distributions can be compared using the method of least squares.     

Suspended Emulsion Copolymerization of Acrylonitrile with Methyl Acrylate: Effects of Reaction Parameters on the Polymerization

Acrylonitrile/methyl acrylate copolymers were synthesized by suspended emulsion polymerization with water as dispersed phase and monomers as continuous phase, potassium peroxydisulphate (KPS) as initiator, Span-80 as emulsifier, and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) as suspending agent. Effects of reaction parameters such as water/monomer mass ratio, concentration of initiator, polymerization temperature and agitation rate on polymerization conversion and the particle size distribution of acrylonitrile/methyl acrylate copolymers were studied. It was found that polymerization conversion increased with an increase of water/monomer mass ratio, concentration of initiator and polymerization temperature, while the agitation rate had no significant effect on the polymerization conversion. Particle size distribution became narrower with an increase of water/monomer mass ratio and agitation rate. Under the same initiator concentration and polymerization temperature, particle size distribution became wider along with polymerization time. The differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) results indicated that the peak temperature of the copolymers decreased with increasing MA content.     

Determination of microstructure and glass-transition temperature of acrylonitrile-methyl acrylate copolymers by 13C-NMR spectroscopy

Acrylonitrile-methyl acrylate (A/M) copolymers of different monomer compositions were prepared by bulk polymerization using free radical initiator (benzoyl peroxide). Copolymer compositions were determined by elemental analyses and comonomer reactivity ratios were determined by the nonlinear least squares errors-in-variables methods (EVM). Terminal and penultimate reactivity ratios have been calculated using the observed monomer triad sequence distribution determined from ¹³C{¹H}-NMR spectra. The triad sequence distribution was used to calculate diad concentrations, conditional probability parameters, number-average sequence lengths, and run number in the copolymers. The observed triad sequence concentrations determined from ¹³C{¹H}-NMR spectrum agreed well with those calculated from reactivity ratios. Glass transition temperatures (T_g) of various copolymers determined from DSC gave good agreement with those obtained from NMR. © 1992 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Calculation of Reactivity Ratios and Sequence Distributions in Copolymers from Monomers 13C-NMR Data

A screening procedure has been developed to predict the average sequence distribution in vinyl copolymers from monomer ¹³C-NMR data. The ¹³C-NMR absorption frequencies of the carbon atoms of the polymerizable double bond are used to calculate the Alfrey-Price Q and e values as previously described by Borchardt and Dalrymple. These, in turn, are used to calculate the monomer reactivity ratios. Reactivity ratios for 54 copolymerizations were calculated by this procedure and compared to literature values. The copolymer sequence distribution may then be determined by means of a computer program written by Harwood. The sequence distribution in copolymers of methacrylic acid and dimethyl-aminoethyl methacrylate, acrylonitrile and methyl methacrylate, 1,1-dichloroethylene and methacrylonitrile, ethyl acrylate and n-butyl methacrylate, and acrylamide and sodium 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulfonate were calculated from reactivity ratios derived from ¹³C-NMR data and compared to literature values. This procedure may be used to calculate the reactivity ratios from ¹³C-NMR spectra of monomers for which no Q and e values are known. By this method the average sequence distribution of such monomers in copolymers may be predicted, significantly reducing the number of copolymers to be synthesized and tested for use in various applications.     

Preparation of block copolymers from occluded vinyl acetate macroradicals

Stable vinyl acetate macroradicals were produced by polymerization in a nonviscous poor solvent, a viscous good solvent and a viscous poor solvent. These macroradicals were then allowed to react with a second vinyl monomer to produce block copolymers. The formation of block copolymers was monitored for rate and yield data. The block copolymers produced were poly(vinyl acetate-b-methyl methacrylate), poly(vinyl acetate-b-acrylic acid), poly(vinyl acetate-b-vinylpyrrolidone), poly(vinyl acetate-b-acrylonitrile), poly(vinyl acetate-b-styrene), and poly(vinyl acetate-b-methyl acrylate). The block copolymers were characterized by yield, precipitation in selected solvents, pyrolysis gas chromatography, and differential scanning calorimetry.     

Synthesis and copolymerization of new phosphorus‐containing acrylates

Two phosphorus‐containing acrylate monomers were synthesized from the reaction of ethyl α‐chloromethyl acrylate and t‐butyl α‐bromomethyl acrylate with triethyl phosphite. The selective hydrolysis of the ethyl ester monomer with trimethylsilyl bromide (TMSBr) gave a phosphonic acid monomer. The attempted bulk polymerizations of the monomers at 57–60 °C with 2,2′‐azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) were unsuccessful; however, the monomers were copolymerized with methyl methacrylate (MMA) in bulk at 60 °C with AIBN. The resulting copolymers produced chars on burning, showing potential as flame‐retardant materials. Additionally, α‐(chloromethyl)acryloyl chloride (CMAC) was reacted with diethyl (hydroxymethyl)phosphonate to obtain a new monomer with identical ester and ether moieties. This monomer was hydrolyzed with TMSBr, homopolymerized, and copolymerized with MMA. The thermal stabilities of the copolymers increased with increasing amounts of the phosphonate monomer in the copolymers. A new route to highly reactive phosphorus‐containing acrylate monomers was developed. A new derivative of CMAC with mixed ester and ether groups was synthesized by substitution, first with diethyl (hydroxymethyl)phosphonate and then with sodium acetate. This monomer showed the highest reactivity and gave a crosslinked polymer. The incorporation of an ester group increased the rate of polymerization. The relative reactivities of the synthesized monomers in photopolymerizations were determined and compared with those of the other phosphorous‐containing acrylate monomers. Changing the monomer structure allowed control of the polymerization reactivity so that new phosphorus‐containing polymers with desirable properties could be obtained. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 41: 2207–2217, 2003     

Head-to-head vinyl polymers. IV. Preparation and characterization of equimolar head-to-head copolymers of acrylic acid and its esters

The alternating copolymer of ethylene with maleic anhydride was esterified with a number of aliphatic alcohols to yield its monoesters, which correspond structurally to equimolar (1:1) head-to-head (h-h) copolymers of acrylic acid with alkyl acrylates. In addition, they were methylated with diazomethane to 1:1 h-h copolymers of methyl acrylate with alkyl acrylates. For comparison the 1:1 head-to-tail (h-t) copolymers of methyl acrylate with alkyl acrylates were prepared by radical copolymerizations. Some chemical, physical, and thermal properties of these 1:1 h-h and h-t copolymers were evaluated and compared. The softening and glass transition temperatures of the 1:1 h-h copolymers were somewhat higher than those of the corresponding 1:1 h-t copolymers, which indicated that the h-h replacements made the polymer chain stiffer and less flexible. The 1:1 h-h copolymers were also observed to degrade thermally at somewhat higher temperatures and with higher rates than the 1:1 h-t copolymers. The ratio of alcohol to monomer found in the pyrolysis products was higher for the 1:1 h-h than for its respective 1:1 h-t copolymer.     

Glycidyl methacrylate–tert-butyl acrylate copolymers: Synthesis,characterization, and thermal studies

Glycidyl methacrylate was copolymerized with tert-butyl acrylate in bulk at 60°C using benzoyl peroxide as free radical initiator. The copolymer composition was determined by chemical analysis as well as from ¹³C-NMR data. The monomer reactivity ratios were calculated by using the YBR method. The number average sequence length of the copolymers was determined from ¹³C-NMR data and compared with those obtained from reactivity ratios. The intrinsic viscosity of the copolymers was determined in DMF, and thermal stability as well as mechanism of thermal degradation of the copolymers were evaluated.     

Preparation of gradient copolymers via ATRP in miniemulsion. II. Forced gradient

A series of forced gradient copolymers with different controlled distribution of monomer units along the copolymer backbone were successfully prepared by atom transfer radical polymerization in miniemulsion. The newly developed initiation technique, known as activators generated by electron transfer, was beneficial for forced gradient copolymers preparation because all polymer chains were initiated within the miniemulsion droplets and the miniemulsion remained stable throughout the entire polymerization. Various monomer pairs with different reactivity ratios were examined in this study, including n‐butyl acrylate/t‐butyl acrylate, n‐butyl methacrylate/methyl methacrylate, and n‐butyl acrylate/styrene. In each case, the added monomer diffused across the aqueous suspending medium and gradient copolymers with different forced distributions of comonomer units along the polymer backbone were obtained. The shape of the gradient along the backbone of the copolymers was influenced by the molar ratio of the monomers, the reactivity ratio of the comonomers as well as the feeding rate. The shape of the gradient was also affected by the relative hydrophobicities of the comonomers. Copolymerizations exhibited good control for all feeding rates and comonomer feeding ratios, as evidenced by narrow molecular weight distribution (M_w/M_n = 1.20–1.40) and molecular weight increasing smoothly with polymer yield, indicating high initiation efficiency. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 1413–1423, 2007     

Pyrolysis—gas chromatography of methyl methacrylate—styrene and methyl methacrylate—α-methylstyrene copolymers

The pyrolysis—gas chromatographic behaviour of methyl methacrylate copolymers with styrene or α-methylstyrene was investigated with a Curie-point pyrolyzer. Monomer yield from each copolymer was very high as a result of the high probability of unzipping. Though only small quantities of dimers and or trimers are formed on the pyrolysis of two copolymers, they reflect the sequence distribution of copolymers. Under some assumption, the run number of each copolymer is calculated using the amounts of dimer and or trimer formed.     

以双硫酯为链转移剂的活性自由基聚合

合成并研究了两种双硫酯链转移剂的纯化方法 ,进行了多种单体以双硫酯为链转移剂的活性自由基聚合及嵌段共聚 .发现以PhC(S)SC(CH3) 2 Ph为链转移剂的效果比PhC(S)SCH(CH3)Ph好 ,聚合产物的多分散性系数较小 .引发剂与链转移剂的摩尔数比为 1∶3 5～ 1∶4 2时 ,得到多分散性系数小 ,实测分子量与理论分子量相近的聚合产物 .聚合物的分子量随时间和转化率的增加而增加 ,加入第二单体形成嵌段共聚物 ,具有活性聚合特征 .聚甲基丙烯酸酯大分子引发剂引发丙烯酸酯单体聚合时 ,聚合速度最快 .     

Synthesis of crosslinkable ABA triblock copolymers based on allyl methacrylate by atom transfer radical polymerization

Copper(I)-mediated living radical polymerization was used to synthesize a series of self-crosslinkable ABA triblock copolymers in which the side blocks are formed by a monomer supporting a reactive functional group, as allyl methacrylate (AMA). The copolymers were prepared according with a two steps synthetic methodology. In the first step, ,ω-dibromo homopolymers of polystyrene (PS), poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and poly(butyl acrylate) (PBA) were synthesized by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). In the second step, these telechelic polymers were employed as macroinitiators for the ATRP of AMA in benzonitrile solution at 70 °C with CuCl/N,N,N′,N″,N″-pentamethyldiethylenetriamine (PMDETA) as catalyst system in order to obtain well-defined functionalized triblock copolymers. The living nature of the block copolymerizations involved was investigated in each case and a similar general behaviour was found. Thus, the molecular weights increased fairly linearly with the conversion degree with first-order kinetics in respect of monomer until moderate conversions, where secondary reactions become more relevant. Finally, intermacromolecular crosslinking were observed giving macrogels as a unique reaction product. The polymers were characterized by different characterization techniques, such as size exclusion chromatography (SEC), ¹H NMR spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). In addition, the facile thermal crosslinking of these block copolymers was evaluated from rheological measurements.     

Copolymers of vinyl and vinylidene chlorides with alkyl acrylates

High-molecular-weight copolymers of vinyl chloride and ethyl or butyl acrylate were prepared in high conversion and yield in the presence of boron trifluoride as the acrylate ester complexing agent. When the vinyl chloride monomer is in excess of equimolar amounts, the resulting copolymers are alternating; and when the alkyl acrylates are in excess, acrylate-rich copolymers are obtained. Ethylene–vinyl chloride–ethyl acrylate and propylene–vinyl chloride–ethyl acrylate terpolymers were also obtained with an ethyl acrylate content of 50 mole %. The relative reactivities of propylene, vinyl chloride, and ethylene in these polymerizations were 5.4, 3.8, and 1.0, respectively. Vinylidene chloride–ethyl acrylate copolymers that are nearly alternating and rich in acrylate or in vinylidene chloride have also been prepared. The monomer reactivity ratios for vinylidene chloride and ethyl acrylate in the presence of boron trifluoride are considerably lower than in its absence.     

Thermal and mechanical properties of random copolymers of diisopropyl fumarate with 1‐adamantyl and bornyl acrylates with high glass transition temperatures

We report the thermal, optical, and mechanical properties of random copolymers produced by radical copolymerizations of diisopropyl fumarate (DiPF) with 1‐adamantyl acrylate (AdA) and bornyl acrylate (BoA). The effects of a methylene spacer included in the main chain and bulky ester alkyl groups in the side chain on the copolymer properties are discussed. The produced copolymers are characterized by NMR and UV–vis spectroscopies, size exclusion chromatography, thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). The copolymerization rate and the molecular weight of the copolymers increase with an increase in the acrylate content in feed during the copolymerization (M_w = 25–110 × 10³). The onset temperature of decomposition (T_d5) and the glass transition temperature (T_g) of the copolymers also increase according to the content of the acrylate units (T_d5 = 296–329 °C and 281–322 °C, T_g = 80–133 °C and 91–106 °C for the copolymers of DiPF with AdA and BoA, respectively). Transparent and flexible copolymer films are obtained by a casting method and their optical properties such as transparency and refractive indices are investigated (n_D = 1.478–1.479). The viscoelastic data of the copolymers are collected by DMA measurements under temperature control. The storage modulus decreases at a temperature region over the T_g value of the copolymers, depending on the structure and amount of the acrylate units. The sequence structure of the copolymers is analyzed based on monomer reactivity ratios and composition in order to discuss the copolymer properties related to chain rigidity and sequence length distribution. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2017 , 55, 288–296