Synthesis of new polymerizable 1,8-naphthalimide dyes containing a 2-hydroxyphenylbenzotriazole fragment

The synthesis of new 1,8-naphthalimide dyes, containing 2-hydroxyphenylbenzotriazole stabiliser fragment is reported. Two polymerizable dyes, a combination between 1,8-naphthalimide and 2-hydroxyphenylbenzotriazole, as well as four 1,8-naphthalimide intermediates were synthesised in good yields under variable reaction conditions. The ability of the dyes for co-polymerisation with vinyl monomers such as acrylonitrile was demonstrated. The percentage of the covalently bound dyes into the polymer chain and the co-polymers' both viscosity and molecular weight were determined. It was found that the monomeric dyes did not significantly affect the co-polymerisation process. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.