Preparation and properties of 1-ethoxy-2,2,2-trifluoroethyl esters of acrylic and methacrylic acids and of their polymers

1‐Ethoxy‐2,2,2‐trifluoroethyl esters of acrylic (I) and methacrylic (II) acids were synthesized from 1‐ethoxy‐2,2,2‐trifluoroethanol and acryloyl‐ and methacryloylchloride, respectively, and their densities, mass, 1H‐ and 13C‐NMR spectra were measured and the rate constants of hydrolysis were determined. Poly(I) and poly(II) were prepared by radical homopolymerization; the rates of polymerization, specific volume contractions in polymerization, limiting viscosity numbers, average number degrees of polymerization, temperature dependences of the heat capacities both in glass and liquid state, glass transition temperatures, and the initial temperature of the spontaneous thermal decomposition of homopolymers were determined. The monomer reactivity ratios of the styrene (S) copolymerizations, SI and SII, and the Alfrey–Price copolymerization constants e and Q for I and II were calculated from the composition of copolymers of I and II with styrene.