Thermal and mechanical properties of copolymers of methyl methacrylate with N‐aryl itaconimides

The article describes the preparation of cast copolymer sheets of methyl methacrylate with varying mole fractions of N‐(p‐methoxyphenyl) itaconimide/N‐(2‐methoxy‐5‐chlorophenyl) itaconimide/N‐(3‐methoxy‐5‐chlorophenyl) itaconimide monomers by bulk copolymerization using azobisisobutyronitrile as an initiator. The effect of incorporation of varying mole fractions of N‐arylsubstituted itaconimides in poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) backbone on the thermal, optical and physicomechanical properties of cast acrylic sheets were evaluated. The glass transition temperature and the thermal stability increased with increasing amounts of itaconimides in the polymer backbone. An increase in tensile strength, flexural strength, and storage modulus was also observed. The impact strength decreased marginally upon incorporation of imides into the polymer backbone. A slight decrease in the transparency and a significant increase (4–50%) in the haze was observed. The chemical resistance of PMMA remains unaffected by copolymerization.