ALKALI SOLUBLE GRAFT COPOLYMERS WITH UNSATURATED CARBOXYLIC ACID/VINYLIC MAIN CHAIN

The present invention provides for a process for producing an alkali-soluble graft polymer having at least one main chain and a plurality of side chains attached thereto, the process comprising the steps of: combining, in a solvent contained within an agitated reaction zone, (1) at least one vinylic monomer that is capable of forming free radicals, (2) at ;east pme ethylenically-unsaturated carboxylic acid monomer that is capable of addition-copolymerizing with the vinylic monomer in the presence of the thus-formed free radicals, and (3) cyclic ester molecules that are capable of ring-opening in the presence of the carboxylic acid monomer, thereby producing a reactant-initiatable polymerizable mixture; and subjecting the reactant-initiatable polymerizable mixture to a preselected temperature and pressure effective to cause the vinylic monomer and the ethylenically-unsaturated carboxylic acid monomer to free-radically addition-copolymerize to form the graft polymer one main chain and to cause the cyclic ester molecules to ring-open at the inner ester bonds thereof and to graft onto the polymer main chain, thereby forming the side chains of the graft polymer, the process being characterized in that the main-chain and side-chain formations of the graft polymer occur substantially simultaneously. The present invention also provides for graft polymer produced in accordance with the inventive process.