Radical Copolymerization of Fullerene (C60) and n-Butyl Methacrylate (BMA) Using Triphenylbismuthonium Ylide and Characterization of C60-BMA Copolymers

Radical copolymerization of fullerene (C-60) and n-butyl methacrylate (BMA) has been carried out using triphenylbismuthonium ylide as an initiator at 70 degrees C for 4 h in a dilatometer under nitrogen atmosphere. The kinetic expression of the polymerization is R-p alpha [Ylide](0.5)[C-60](-1.0)[BMA](1.2), which is similar to that expected for ideal kinetics. The rate of polymerization increases with an increase in the concentration of initiator and BMA. However, it decreases with an increase in the concentration of fullerene. Fullerene acts as radical scavengers causing retardation in polymerization. The activation energy of copolymerization was estimated to be 72.2 K J mol(-1). The fullerene-containing BMA copolymers were characterized by FTIR, H-1 NMR, C-13 NMR, UV-vis, and GPC analyses. (C) 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 43: 608-619, 2011