Methyl methacrylate based copolymers and terpolymers: Preparation, identification, and plasticizing capability for a poly(methyl methacrylate) used in aviation

ABSTRACT In this study, we first synthesized transparent poly(methyl methacrylate–maleic anhydride) [P(MMA–MAH)] and poly(methyl methacrylate–maleic anhydride–N‐2‐methyl‐4‐nitrophenyl maleimide) [P(MMA–MAH–MI)] via free‐radical polymerization at different monomer ratios. The synthesized polymers were characterized by titration, viscometric, spectroscopy, and thermal analyses. Higher contents of maleic anhydride (MAH) resulted in increases in the viscosity, glass‐transition temperature (Tg), and transparency. The synthesized polymers were then blended with a commercial‐grade poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) used in aviation in the presence of CHCl3. According to the free volume theory, the incorporation of 5 wt % P(MMA–MAH)s or P(MMA–MAH–MI)s into the commercial PMMA resulted in a plasticizing impact on this thermoplastic, which was confirmed by the decrease in the Tg values of the blends with almost the same transparency as the initial PMMA. In fact, the higher the content of MAH was, the lower the Tg of the blends was. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018, 135, 46603.