Synthesis of poly(2‐oxo‐1,3‐dioxolane‐4‐yl) methyl methacrylate by polymer reaction of carbon dioxide and miscibility of its blends with copolymers of methyl methacrylate and ethyl acrylate

Abstract

AbstractPolymeric epoxides were converted to corresponding five‐membered cyclic carbonates in an effective manner. Poly(glycidyl methacrylate) (PGMA) was converted to a poly(2‐oxo‐1,3‐dioxolane‐4‐yl) methyl methacrylate (PDOMMA) by the polymer reaction with carbon dioxide using tetraoctylammonium chloride (TOAC) as a catalyst. The miscibility of blends of PGMA or PDOMMA with copolymers of MMA and ethyl acrylate (MMA‐EA) of two different EA compositions (2 and 5 wt %) was investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The films of PGMA or PDOMMA and MMA‐EA (2 and 5 wt %) blends were cast from N,N‐dimethylformamide solution. An optical clarity test and DSC analysis showed that PDOMMA blends were miscible over the entire composition range, but PGMA was immiscible with the MMA‐EA copolymers. It was also found that the miscibility of PDOMMA with 2 wt % MMA‐EA copolymer was better than that of DOMMA with 5 wt % MMA‐EA copolymer. The different miscibility behaviors were investigated in terms of Fourier transform IR spectra and interaction parameters based on the binary interaction model. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 81: 2161–2169, 2001