| Abstract: | This work studies the synthesis of copolymers (MACO‐St) of castor oil maleate (MACO) and styrene (St) initiated using benzoyl peroxide (BPO) as free radical initiator through suspension polymerization. The study investigates the effects of temperature (100–140 °C), the molar ratio between styrene and MACO (2:1–4:1), BPO concentration (0.10–0.20 wt%), and water concentration (50–100 wt%) on the molecular weight distribution, thermal stability, viscosity, and biodegradability of the copolymers. Suspension polymerization allows the production of a broad range of number average molecular weight (3465–18 995 g mol?1) and molecular weight distributions with dispersions (?) ranging from 1.8 to 4.4. The reaction presents high yields of castor oil into copolymers (>90%), which displays thermal stability up to 200 °C and are highly biodegradable according to the International Organization of Standardization reference. |
