Please determine the most convenient procedure, type of initiator and other necessary chemicals to nake the final product highly cationic. Also give me a method to terminate the reaction and seperate the polymer from the solution. Tnx
An old method is copolymerization with (meth)acrylic acid and in a next step imination,reaction of the COOH with propyleneimine. (very toxic,boils at 67 C so reaction below this temperature) Another procedure is copolymerization with glycidyl(meth)acrylate and reaction in a next step with gaseaous NH3 under pressure….do not use a lot because it can gel. (reaction of epoxy with NH2 during the NH3 reaction) Another procedure is reaction with quaternized monomers,available in water solution so reaction in an emulsion process.
With all humbleness, I carried out research on acrylic polymers & supervised research on these polymers long time ago in Great Britain. First a scientific background & then a suggestion.
Cationic polymerization of styrene & butyl acrylate does not work . Styrene monomer can be homo polymerized cationically & anionically. Homo polymerization of butyl acrylate cannot be done by the cationic method because there is (-CO-O-C4H9) group in the monomer and this group is electron-withdrawing.
If one tries to co-polymerize styrene & butyl acrylate using a cationic initiator, styrene will form polymeric chains while butyl acrylate will not engage in chain formation so the end product will not be a copolymer but a homo polymer of styrene.
You research requires applying the anionic type of copolymerization. My suggestion is to use an organometallic initiator such as n-butyl lithium or a Grignard reagent (RMgX). The monomers must be ultra pure & dry. Moisture & oxygen must be avoided by an inert blanket of dry nitrogen throughout the copolymerization process.
The glassware has to be completely clean & it is not strange when polymer chemists subject the reaction flask to direct Bunsen burner flame to remove the traces of moisture embedded within the glass before carrying out polymerization.
You research will not be easy but it is a challenge. Best wishes for success.
May be I misunderstood the question....thought the question was to prepare styrene - butylacrylate copolymers that are cationic in nature.
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