Copolymerizations of alkyl methacrylates with vinyltriacetoxysilane

Copolymerizations of methyl methacrylate (MMA) and butyl methacrylate (BMA) with vinyltriacetoxysilane (VTAS) have been carried out in bulk at 70°. The compositions of the copolymers were determined from their silicon contents; the reactivity ratios were calculated by the Kelen-Tüdős method. For MMA/VTAS, r₁ = 7.75 ± 0.31 and for BMA/VTAS, r₁ = 4.62 ± 0.15; in both systems, r₂ is zero, indicating that VTAS does not homopolymerize under the experimental conditions. The influence of the silicon comonomer on properties of the copolymers, such as solubility annd thermal behaviour, was studied.