Influence of the microstructure of acrylic acid-n-butyl acrylate copolymers prepared by pseudoliving radical polymerization by the reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer mechanism on their surface activity in aqueous solutions

The influence of the microstructure of acrylic acid- n -butyl acrylate copolymers prepared by pseudoliving radical polymerization by the reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer mechanism on their surface activity in aqueous solutions was studied. The mechanisms of adsorption of polymer macromolecules on the phase boundary, accounting for the difference in the behavior of the random and block copolymers, were suggested. The dependence of the surface activity on the chain flexibility was elucidated. This dependence is very significant for the random copolymers and insignificant for the block copolymers.