Preparation of amide and amine groups containing copolymers of methyl methacrylate and their performance in solid polymer composites

Methyl methacrylate (MMA) was copolymerized with acrylamide, N‐methylacrylamide, N,N‐dimethylacrylamide, 1‐vinyl‐2‐pyrrolidone, 4‐vinylpyridine, and 2‐dimethylaminomethyl methacrylate in 1,4‐dioxane solution at 65°C, using AIBN as initiator, to yield copolymers with comonomer contents between about 5 and 50 mole‐%. The monomer reactivity ratios were evaluated. The copolymerizations are in general non‐azeotropic and non‐ideal. The amine group containing comonomers are preferentially incorporated in relation to MMA, but MMA is preferentially incorporated in relation to the amide group containing comonomers. The average molecular weights of the copolymers, with the exception of the N,N‐dimethylacrylamide copolymer, decrease with increasing comonomer concentration, especially in the case of the amine group containing comonomers. The increasing content of amide and amine group containing monomeric units in the copolymers influences the adsorption of the polymers on an iron oxide red pigment, the dispersion stability, as well as the adhesion of the polymer coatings on steel plates and their corrosion protection.