Terpolymerization reactions of N-acryloyloxyphthalimide or N-methacryloyloxyphthalimide with methyl acrylate, methyl methacrylate and acrylonitrile

Ternary copolymerization reactions of N-acryloyloxyphthalimide (NAP) or N-methacryloyloxyphthalimide (NMP) and acrylonitrile with methyl acrylate or methyl methacrylate were carried out in solution at 60°C in the presence of a free radical initiator. Experimental terpolymerization data agree well with calculations based on the Alfrey-Goldfinger equation. The determination of unitary, binary, and ternary azeotropies of the various systems studied was easily handled by a computer program. The results show that there is no ternary azeotropic composition for any terpolymer system studied. Selective unitary and binary azeotropic compositions were polymerized and the results show good agreement between the theoretical and experimental terpolymer composition in each case. The estimation of terpolymer compositions was carried out by 1H NMR spectroscopy.