Synthesis and characterization of phenyl methacrylamide copolymers

The functional monomer, N‐phenyl methacrylamide (PMA), was synthesized by reacting methacryloyl chloride with aniline. Free‐radical solution copolymerization of PMA and acrylamide (AA) in various feed ratios was synthesized by using benzoyl peroxide initiator in N,N‐dimethylformamide at 70°C. Copolymer structure was elucidated by infrared and proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The copolymer composition was determined from the corresponding 1H NMR spectra of the copolymers. Finemann‐‐Ross and Kelen‐‐Tudos methods were used to determine the reactivity ratios of the monomers. Thermal characterization of the copolymers was carried out using differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis. Thermal stability of the copolymers increases with the increase of PMA content in the copolymer. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Adv Polym Techn 25: 41–50, 2006; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/adv.20056