| Abstract: | The grafting preference of vinyl acetate onto the methine carbon of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVOH) versus the acetate group of poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc) was determined as part of an attempt to prepare novel branched PVOH from partially hydrolyzed PVAc. The results showed long chain grafting on the acetate groups of the PVAc units rather than the methine carbons of the PVOH or PVAc units. Decreasing the monomer or initiator concentration decreased the molecular weight of the graft copolymer formed. Of the initiators studied, ammonium persulfate gave the largest increase in copolymer molecular weight. Both hydrolysis and reacetylation combined with gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and 13C-NMR of the fully hydrolyzed material were used to estimate the number and location of grafts. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. |
