Synthesis, characterization, thermal properties and antimicrobial activity of acrylic copolymers derived from 2,4-dichlorophenyl acrylate

Abstract

Copolymer of monomer 2,4-dichlorophenylacrylate (2,4-DCPA) and methylmethacrylate (MMA) were synthesized with different monomer feed ratio using dimethylformamide (DMF) as a solvent and 2,2'-azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) as an initiator at 70°C. The copolymers were characterized by IR-Spectroscopy and copolymer composition was determined with UV-Spectroscopy. The linearization method of Fineman Ross (F-R) and Kelen Tudos (K-T) were used to obtain the monomer reactivity ratios. Thermal analyses of polymer were carried out in nitrogen atmosphere thermal gravimetric analyses (TGA) and differential thermal analyses (DTA). The molecular weight and intrinsic viscosity were determined by vapor pressure osmometry (VPO). The homo and copolymers were tested for their antimicrobial properties against selected microorganisms.