Polymerization of N‐Vinyl Lactam with (Meth)Acrylate Based Comonomers

Abstract

This chapter focuses on N‐vinyl pyrrolidone and/or N‐vinyl caprolactam‐based copolymers by conventional free‐radical chemistry with acrylate‐based comonomers. It describes the void on information of different copolymers of N‐vinyl pyrrolidone or N‐vinyl caprolactam with many acrylate‐based monomers. The chapter discusses some fundamentals in conventional free‐radical copolymerization, and the resultant copolymer formed. The effect of adding alkyl‐groups onto to the pendant amide is evaluated from dimethyl acrylamide to isopropyl acrylamide with N‐vinyl pyrrolidone. The first copolymerizations were performed in organic solvents like dimethylformamide and toluene. One route to copolymerize vinylpyrrolidone (VP) copolymers with acidic comonomers without hydrolysis is to use a precipitation copolymerization process. Vinylcaprolactam can be copolymerized with acidic monomers like that of VP with acrylic or methacrylic acid monomers just discussed. High molecular weight water‐soluble copolymers based on methacrylamide with VP have been difficult to synthesize by free‐radical polymerization.