Controlled activity polymers. VI: Acrylamide copolymers with structopendent naphthylacetic acid and indoleacetic acid esters: Synthesis and characterization

Abstract

Auxin-containing monomers, 2-(1-naphthylacetyl) ethyl acrylate (NAEA), 2-(1-naphthylacetyl) butyl acrylate (NABA), 2-(1-naphthylacetyl) ethyl methacrylate (NAEMA), and 2-(indole-3-acetyl) ethyl acrylate (IAEA) were prepared utilizing a 4-pyrrolidinopyridine catalyst and dicyclohexylcarbodiimide. Copolymers of auxin-containing monomers with acrylamide (AM) were obtained by solution polymerization. Intrinsic viscosities, number-average molecular weights, and residual monomer contents were measured; molecular weights were found to be in the range 5.5–18.0 × 10 4. Copolymer compositional data were used to calculate reactivity ratios; the values obtained indicated random copolymerization behavior. The copolymer microstructures were predicted utilizing statistical methods. These model structures are utilized for the assessment of structure/hydrolysis relationships in a subsequent paper.