Copolymers in dilute solution .1. Preliminary results for styrene-methyl methacrylate (Reprinted from J Polymer Science, vol 16, pg 517-530, 1955)

The dilute solution properties of copolymers are briefly discussed in relation to those of the parent homopolymers. It is shown that copolymer molecules are usually more expanded in solution than would be expected from the averaged behavior of the pure polymers, because of repulsive interactions between the unlike monomer units. A thermodynamic parameter chi(AB) characterizing these interactions can be derived from measurements of the dilute solution properties of copolymers. In favorable cases this parameter can be independently evaluated from studies of ternary systems composed of the two parent homopolymers and a solvent, thus allowing prediction of the behavior of the copolymer. Light scattering and viscosity measurements on fractions of approximately equimolal copolymers of styrene and methyl methacrylate are presented and analyzed. The values of chi(AB) deduced from the results in two solvents agree satisfactorily with each other, but are somewhat larger than those earlier obtained from measurements on ternary systems.