| Abstract: | Liquid vinyl monomers (styrene and methyl methacrylate) were copolymerized with γ-irradiated acrylamide in a two-phase system. The products obtained were mainly diblock copolymers of acrylamide and the vinyl monomer used, but small amounts of homopolymers were also formed. The effects of radiation dose, copolymerization temperature, initial molar ratio of monomers, crystal size of acrylamide, mode of irradiation, and the existence of a solvent were investigated. In addition to the conventional methods, the reaction was studied by electron spin resonance spectroscopy. A mechanism was proposed and a kinetic rate equation was established for this copolymerization. Characterization of the copolymers was made by physical and mechanical testing. |
