Studies of the copolymerisation of acrylic acid with n‐butyl vinyl ether

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Copolymers of acrylic acid (AA) are important materials for the preparation of glass ionomer cements. Copolymerisation of AA is widely used to alter the acid strength of the material and to increase the number of salt bridges formed in cements. In this paper we report the copolymerisation of AA with n‐butyl vinyl ether (BVE) to form unique copolymers of the hemiacetal ester and with BVE incorporated into the main chain.RESULTS: AA and BVE undergo a spontaneous reaction to form a hemiacetal ester which can itself undergo free radical copolymerisation. The kinetics of this reaction in the bulk state have been examined. In addition, under these conditions BVE is incorporated into the polymer main chain via a free radical mechanism.CONCLUSION: Novel copolymers of the hemiacetal ester and BVE have been prepared in this study. The hemiacetal side chains are labile under moderate heating, being converted back to the acid analogue. Copyright © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry

Vinyl mercaptoethanol as a reactive monomer for the preparation of functional homo- and copolymers with (meth)acrylates

“…[1][2][3] More recently, also radical polymerizations were adapted to prepare these polymers. [4][5][6] Nevertheless, their ability to copolymerize with more activated monomers (MAMs), such as (meth)acrylate or styrene deriva-tives, remains limited and only low amounts of vinyl ether monomers are incorporated. 7,8 Interestingly, vinyl thioethers are generally more suitable for radical (co)polymerizations, as the 3d-orbital resonance of sulfur stabilizes the radicals at the adjacent carbon atom.…”