PREPARATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF ACRYLATES AND POLYACRYLATES HAVING VARIABLE FLUORINE CONTENTS AND DISTRIBUTIONS

Five acrylic esters having different fluorine contents and distributio ns in their side-groups (i.e., CH2 = CHC(O)OR, where R = -C(CH3)2CrF4H , -C(CH3)2C6F5, -C(CF3)2C6F5, -C(CF3)2C6H5, and -C(CH3)2C6H5) have bee n prepared from the reactions of the lithium salts of their correspond ing alcohols with acryloyl chloride. These monomers are polymerized un der identical conditions by the radical initiator AIBN and five polyac rylates were prepared having the structure of -[-CH2CHC(O)OR-]n-. Thes e addition polymers were compared and fully characterized by GPC, VPO, DSC, TGA, NMR, IR, and UV-visible spectroscopies, and they showed pot ential for practical applications. Significant differences in their th ermal stabilities were found with respect to fluorine contents and dis tributions in these polyacrylates, and the highest stability arises fr om CF3 substitutions in the side-chains of the polymers. (C) 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.