Studies on synthesis of graft copolymers with p-chloromethylstyrene copolymers as macroinitiators

A series of graft copolymers were synthesized by ATRP initiated with macroinitiators which had been made from copolymerization of p-chloromethylstyrene and other monomers, such as methyl methacrylate, butyl methacrylate, acrylonitrile, styrene, vinyl acetate, isobutene-maleic anhydride, styrene-maleic anhydride etc.. The graft copolymers were characterized by IR and H-1 NMR spectra. The numbers of graft points or the branches on the graft copolymers were determined by Ion Chromatography. The design for the various structures and architectures of the graft copolymers was made by changing the compositions of the backbones and the branches. The results indicated that it is a versatile route to synthesize a lot of graft copolymers and will be commercially important in the future.