Study of free-radical copolymerization of acrylamide with 2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propane sulphonic acid

The free-radical initiated synthesis of acrylamide-co-2-acrylamido-2- methyl-1-propane sulphonic acid (AAm-co-AMPS) was studied at 60 and 25°C. The monomer reactivity ratios were evaluated using Fineman-Ross and Kelen-Tüdos methods, based on elemental analysis of the copolymers and 13C-NMR experimental data. The detailed copolymer microstructure was derived from reactivity ratios using the conditional probability based on the terminal kinetic model for free-radical polymerization. The homopolymers and copolymers were characterized using 1H- and 13C-NMR, and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopic methods, and differential scanning calorimetry.