Polymerization of itaconic acid

Poly(itaconic acid) (PIA) has been prepared by various methods namely in radical polymerization in the presence of various initiators and using water or dioxane as reaction medium, or by poly(itaconic anhydride) hydrolysis. The main purpose was to investigate the effect of method of synthesis on the chemical structure of the product. Possibilities of the structures described by Formula (II) or (III) occurring have been considered. The following methods were used for PIA characterization: FT-IR, H-1 NMR, C-13 NMR, elemental analysis, size exclusion chromatography and conductometric titration as well as potentiometric titration. The reasons of known phenomenon of limited availability of PIA carboxylic groups in titration conditions were discussed. Significant effect of drying conditions on the results obtained suggests the importance of keeping the drying conditions constant. Two types of neighborhood of methylene or carboxylic groups in PIA have been found.