Microstructure study of styrene/n-butyl acrylate emulsion copolymers by 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy

A detailed study of the sequence distribution in styrene (S)/n-butyl acrylate (A) emulsion copolymers using 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy is reported. From the interpretation of the spectra of the homopolymers and copolymers, assignment of the carbonyl (A) and quaternary (S) carbon atom resonances has been made. This provides a quantitative estimation of the compositional triad distributions in the copolymers. The results were found to be in relatively good agreement with calculated triad fractions deduced from a simulation program taking into account the actual reactivity ratios and type of emulsion process.