Study of radical methyl methacrylate-methacrylic acid copolymerization in isopropyl alcohol by dynamic laser scattering and 13C-NMR spectroscopy

Abstract

The copolymerization of methyl methacrylate and methacrylic acid in isopropyl alcohol is studied by kinetic, dynamic laser scattering and 13C-NMR methods. Correlations are established between the dependence of the copolymerization rate, the apparent average molecular weight, the diffusion coefficients and the configurational triad composition on the monomer feed. These correlations and the fact that both copolymerization constants are smaller than unity ( r MMA = 0.63 ± 0.03; r MA = 0.25 ± 0.05) are in good agreement with the assumption that a comonomer complex takes part in the propagation reaction. A new Markov chain method for the estimation of the configurational triad mole fraction which accounts for the complex participation in a macromolecule formation is developed. Qualitative criteria for evidence the participation of the comonomer complex in copolymerization are proposed using experimental and terminal model calculated mole fractions of the compositional triads and diads.