SOLUTION POLYMERIZATION OF VINYL MONOMERS IN THE PRESENCE OF POLY(N-ACETYLIMINOETHYLENE) MACROAZOINITIATORS

New block copolymers with poly(N-acetyliminoethylene) and vinyl sequen ces were obtained by a two-step synthetic approach. In the first stage macroinitiators of poly(N-acetyliminoethylene) type, with azo groups inserted in the main chain, were prepared. They were latter used in th e radical polymerization of some vinyl monomers [styrene, methacrylic acid, methyl methacrylate, butyl methacrylate, beta-(N-carbazolyl)ethy l acrylate, beta-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl 3,5-dinitrobenzoate]. The resu lting block copolymers were characterized by spectral methods, element al analysis, gel permeation chromatography, and electron microscopy. T he kinetic study of the thermal and photochemical decomposition of the synthesized macroazoinitiators, as well as the polymerization data, s uggest a dependence of their initiating efficiency on the length of th e poly(N-acetyliminoethylene) segments. (C) 1994 John Wiley & Sons, In c.