SYNTHESIS, POLYMERIZATION AND COPOLYMERIZATION OF N-(2-ACRYLOYLOXYETHYL)PHTHALIMIDE

The present paper reports the synthesis and free-radical polymerization of N-(2-acryloyloxyethyl)phthalimide (A) and its copolymerization with methyl methacrylate (M). This acrylic monomer was prepared in fairly good yield according to a synthetic scheme that includes two steps. The purified acrylic derivative was polymerized in dimethylformamide solution at 60-degrees-C, using azobisisobutyronitrile as free-radical initiator. The kinetic behaviour indicates that this monomer presents a rather high polymerization rate, with a value of k(p)/k(t)1/2 = 1.36 l1/2 mol-1/2 s-1/2. Copolymerization reactions were carried out in the same experimental conditions and the reactivity ratios were determined by the application of the Kelen-Tudos and non-linear least-squares methods. The values of reactivity ratios calculated by the linearization method were r(A) = 0.29 +/- 0.02 and r(M) = 3.02 +/- 0.32, whereas the application of the non-linear least-squares method gave values of r(A) = 0.30 and r(M) = 3.07. From these values the corresponding Q and e parameters were calculated, giving values of Q = 0.27 and e = 0.71.