Aminolysis Of N-Butyl Methacrylate-Styrene Copolymer With Difunctional And Trifunctional Amines

Aminolysis of a random copolymer of styrene and n-butyl methacrylate (2.54:1.00 mole ratio) with 6-aminohexanol has been studied. Kinetics were determined by covalently dyeing the functional polymer and spectrally measuring dye content. In the presence of 1,4-diaza[2,2,2]bicyclooctane (DABCO), an activation energy of 22.2 ± 1.0 kcal/mole was calculated from the temperature dependence of the overall rate of reaction. The rate is independent of solvent polarity. The rate at 189°C is 2.1-fold slower than that of poly(n-butyl methacrylate). The phenyl group of the styryl moiety inhibits the reaction, apparently via a steric effect. This aminolysis technique affords noncrosslinked (similar Mn and Mw) functional polymers. By a similar process an aminediol and an alcohol which contained a secondary and a primary amino group also yielded noncrosslinked functionalized polymers.