Thermal properties of copolymers of N-vinylcarbazole with acrylic and methacrylic monomers

Abstract

The copolymerization of N-vinylcarbazole (NVC) with several acrylic and methacrylic monomers (butyl acrylate (BuA), ethyl-, butyl-, and cyclohexyl methacrylate) has been studied and the thermal properties of the copolymers have been analyzed. The reactivity ratios calculated by a statistical method known as the error in variables method indicate that NVC–BuA copolymers are predominantly alternating, the rest of the systems having a moderate alternating character. The dependence of the glass transition temperature on copolymer composition has been analyzed by using different theories; those taking into account the sequence distribution in the copolymer are the ones that best fit the experimental data. Analysis of the copolymers' thermal stability reveals high values of the initial degradation temperature even for those samples with a low content in NVC.

Keywords:

• Copolymerization
• Reactivity ratios
• Acrylic and methacrylic monomers
• Glass transition temperature
• Thermal stability

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the University of the Basque Country(UPV/EHU) for financial support towards this project(EA162/92).