Polymer effect in graft polymerizations of acrolein onto imidazole‐containing polymer

The graft polymerizations of acrolein (AL) onto an imidazole (Im)‐containing polymer, such as a homopolymer of 4(5)‐vinylimidazole (VIm) and several copolymers of VIm‐4‐vinylpyridine (VPy), VIm‐1‐vinyl‐2‐pyrrolidone (VPr), and VIm‐styrene (St), have been studied in ethanol at 0°C. The degree of polymerization (P̄n) of the resulting polyacrolein graft depended on the number of Im units in the Im‐containing polymer which produced a decrease in P̄n of grafted polyacrolein. The P̄n of the graft polyacrolein was determined to be in the range of 5‐23. The rate of polymerization (Rp) was expressed by Rp = k(PVIm) (AL)2. The graft polymerizability of the AL was influenced by the comonomer in the parent polymer, and was found to be in the order of VIm homopolymer > VIm‐VPr copolymer > VIm‐VPy copolymer > VIm‐St copolymer. Rp was affected by the functional group around the Im group in the Im‐containing polymer. These results were discussed by assuming the conformation of the parent polymer in ethanol.