Synthesis of poly[(2-oxo-1,3-dioxolan-4-yl)methyl vinyl ether-co-N-phenylmaleimide] and its miscibility in blends with styrene-acrylonitrile or poly(vinyl chloride)

Abstract

The aim of the study was to investigate the synthesis of a copolymer bearing cyclic carbonate and its miscibility with styrene/acrylonitrile copolymer (SAN) or poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC). (2-Oxo-1,3-dioxolan-4-yl)methyl vinyl ether (OVE) as a monomer was synthesized from glycidyl vinyl ether and CO2 using quaternary ammonium chloride salts as catalysts. The highest reaction rate was observed when tetraoctylammonium chloride (TOAC) was used as a catalyst. Even at the atmospheric pressure of CO2, the yield of OVE using TOAC was above 80% after 6 h of reaction at 80°C. The copolymer of OVE and N-phenylmaleimide (NPM) was prepared by radical copolymerization and was characterized by FTIR and 1H-NMR spectroscopies and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The monomer reactivity ratios were given as r1 (OVE) = 0.53–0.57 and r2 (NPM) = 2.23–2.24 in the copolymerization of OVE and NPM. The films of poly(OVE-co-NPM)/SAN and poly(OVE-co-NPM)/PVC blends were cast from N-dimethylformamide. An optical clarity test and DSC analysis showed that poly(OVE-co-NPM)/SAN and poly(OVE-co-NPM)/PVC blends were both miscible over the whole composition range. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 77: 1809–1815, 2000