Study of the structure of divinyl ether-maleic anhydride copolymer by spectroscopic methods

The structure of divinyl ether-maleic anhydride copolymer was studied by spectroscopic methods (NMR and FTIR techniques). When the copolymer is synthesized in solvents of markedly different nature and polarity (acetone and chloroform), the resulting copolymer has predominantly a five-membered structure, contrary to the generally accepted notion of its six-membered structure. The presence of six-membered structure was unambiguously established only for the copolymer prepared in a carbon disulfide-acetone mixture and, in our opinion, is determined by the specific effect of carbon disulfide.