Synthesis, characterization and thermal properties of glycidyl methacrylate-acrylonitrile copolymers

In this study, the copolymers of glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) with acrylonitrile (AN) were synthesized by free radical solution polymerization using 1,4-dioxane as a solvent at 70 oC and benzoyl peroxide (BPO) as a free radical initiator. The copolymerization behavior was studied in a wide composition interval with the mole fractions of GMA ranging from 0.20 to 0.80 in the feed and under 10% copolymer conversion. The copolymers were characterized by fourier transform ınfrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques. The thermogravimetric analysis of the copolymers showed that the thermal stability of the copolymer increases with AN content. Thermal decomposition activation energies calculated by Ozawa method. The copolymer composition was determined by elemental analysis. The monomer reactivity ratios were determined by the application of conventional linearization methods such as Fineman - Ross (F-R), Kelen - Tudos (K-T) methods, and a non-linear error-in-variable model (RREVM) method using a computer program, and all results were discussed.