Head-to-head vinyl polymers. XI. Preparation and characterization of poly(methyl acrylate) and poly(methyl methacrylate) consisting of head-to-head and head-to-tail units through cyclopolymerization of acrylic and methacrylic anhydrides

Acrylic anhydride (AAn) and methacrylic anhydride (MAAn) were polymerized with radical initiator in polar solvents at high temperatures. The polymers obtained were found to consist of five-and six-membered ring structures by comparing IR spectra of the polymers with those of model compounds, succinic anhydride, and glutaric anhydride. Hydrolysis and methylation of the polymers gave new polymers composed of head-to-head (HH) and head-to-tail (HT) methyl acrylate (MA) or methyl methacrylate (MMA) units. The content of HH unit of these HH/HT polymers was determined by ¹H-NMR and ¹³C-NMR spectra. The softening, glass transition, and thermal degradation temperatures of the poly(MA) with HH and HT units were found to somewhat increase with increasing of the content of the HH units. On the other hand, the glass transition and thermal degradation temperatures of the poly(MMA) with HH and HT units increased similarly, but the softening temperature decreased as the content of the HH units increased.