Preparation of soluble, linear titanium-containing copolymers by the free-radical copolymerization of vinyl titanate monomers with styrene

Linear, soluble copolymers containing titanium are of interest; for use in targets for inertial-confinement fusion (ICF) experiments because the titanium is a useful spectroscopic probe for studying the nuclear fusion process. Some suitable copolymers have been prepared from vinyl titanate monomers and styrene via free-radical polymerization. Soluble copolymers with molecular weights between 70,000 and 100,000 daltons containing 0.1 atom % titanium can be reliably prepared. These copolymers have been incorporated into targets used in inertial-confinement fusion experiments at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Attempts to prepare identical copolymers using macromolecular modification were unsuccessful and yielded insoluble materials upon reaction of the functionalized copolymers with titanium(IV) isopropoxide. (C) 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.