REACTIVITY AND CHARACTERIZATION OF THE RADICAL COPOLYMERIZATION OF ITACONIC ACID WITH SOME CONVENTIONAL MONOMERS

Radical copolymerizations of itaconic acid (IA) with acrylamide (Am), N-vinyI pyrrolidone (NVP), ethyl methacrylate (EMA), and methyl methac rylate (MMA) were carried out in dioxane in the presence of azobisisob utyronitrile as the initiator at 65 degrees C. The monomer reactivity ratios (r(1), r(2)), Q, and e for IA with the four monomers were deter mined. The reactivity ratios show a tendency toward alternation, while the Q and e of IA indicate that it is an electron-accepting monomer. The polymers obtained were characterized by FT-IR, x-ray diffraction, intrinsic viscosity, and thermal stability measurements.