Copolymerization of Polymethyl Methacrylate Macromers withn-Butyl Acrylate and Mechanical Properties of the Graft Copolymers

The copolymerization of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) macromer with butyl acrylate in benzene was studied. the PMMA macromer was obtained by radical polymerization in the presence of thioglycollic acid as a chain transfer agent, followed by termination with glycidyl methacrylate. the copolymerization rate and effects of various copolymerization conditions, such as molecular weight of macromer, charging ratio of macromer to monomer, amount of initiator, kind of solvent, concentration, and copolymerization temperature, on grafting efficiency and molecular weight of copolymer were investigated. the copolymers were purified by fractional precipitation. the purified copolymers with uniform PMMA grafts were characterized by GPC, IR, UV, and DSC. Structural parameters of the copolymers were determined by VPO and membrane osmometry. Average grafting number per chain decreases with an increase of conversion. Measurement of mechanical properties of the copolymers shows that both molecular weight and the content of the macromer affect mechanical properties of the copolymer, and within a certain range they behave like a thermoplastic elastomer.