| Abstract: | The spontaneous copolymerization of N-phenylmaleimide (NPMI) (M1) with ethyl α-phenylacrylate (EPA)(M2) were carried out in dioxane at 85°C. A high alternating tendency was observed. The monomer reactivity ratios were r1 = 0.07 ±0.01 and r2 = 0.09 ± 0.02. The maximum copolymerization rate and molecular weight occurs at 70–80 mol% (M1) in feed ratio. The spontaneous alternating copolymerization is considered to be carried out via a contact-type charge transfer complex (CTC) formed between the monomers. Thermogravimetric analyses (TGA) indicate the resulting copolymers have high thermal stability. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 36: 2927–2931, 1998 |
