RADICAL COPOLYMERIZATION OF ACRLOYLMORPHOLINE WITH 2-HYDROXYETHYL METHACRYLATE: MONOMER REACTIVITY RATIOS AND THERMAL PROPERTIES

Abstract

Poly (acryloylmorpholine -co- 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) were prepared by traditional free radical polymerization. Copolymerization with acryloylmorpholine(ACM) and 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate(HEMA) monomers were carried out in tetrahydrofuran solution at 60 o C using 2,2'-azobisisobutyronitrile(AIBN) as initiator. The copolymers were characterized by FT-IR , 1 H and 13 C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Monomer compositions of the copolymers were established by nitrogen results of elemental analysis. The reactivity ratios of monomers ACM(r 1 ) and HEMA(r 2 ) in the copolymer were calculated by various methods. According to these methods, r 1 was 1.73-2.01 and r 2 was 0.48-0.74. Thermogravimetric analysis was used to investigate the thermal properties of copolymers.