LANGMUIR AND LANGMUIR-BLODGETT-FILMS OF DERIVATIVES OF ALPHA-OLEFIN-MALEIC ANHYDRIDE ALTERNATING COPOLYMERS PREPARED FROM OLEFINS CONTAINING HYDROPHILIC GROUPS

A range of long chain alpha-olefins were prepared which contained amid e (four examples) or ester (five examples) linkages. The olefins were copolymerized with maleic anhydride and the alternating copolymers pro duced were subjected to ring-opening reactions at the anhydride residu es to give polymers containing acid-ester, acid-acid or acid-amide hea d groups. Monolayers of these polymers on water were studied and, in f avourable cases, thick Langmuir-Blodgett multilayers were prepared. Th e latter were studied by X-ray reflectivity. The results obtained were compared with those obtained from analogous polymers prepared startin g from the simple alpha-olefins undecene, octadecene and tricosene. Th e polymers prepared from the alpha-olefins containing amide linkages g enerally gave poor monolayers and in only one case could a Langmuir-Bl odgett multilayer be prepared. The polymers prepared from the alpha-ol efins containing ester linkages generally gave better monolayers, espe cially if the ester group was shielded from solvation either by being surrounded with lipophilic chains or by virtue of being a t-butyl este r or an ester of an aromatic acid, or because the ester was linked to a mesogenic group. Several of the latter polymers gave excellent Langm uir-Blodgett firms. In general polymers with acid-acid head groups gav e better films than the analogues with acid-methyl ester head groups.