Free radical co-polymerization of butylmethacrylate and linalool with a functional group as a pendant

The radical co-polymerization of an acyclic monoterpenoid, namely linalool (LIN), with butylmethacrylate (BMA) in xylene at 80 +/- 0.1 degrees C for 1 h, using benzoylperoxide (BPO) as an initiator under the inert atmosphere of nitrogen has been carried out. The kinetics expression is: R-p alpha [I](0.5) [LIN](1.0) [BMA](1.0). The overall activation energy has been calculated as 60 kJ/mol. Bands at 3408 cm(-1) and 1732 cm(-1) in the FT-IR spectrum of the co-polymer(s) have indicated the presence of hydroxyl and ester groups of LIN and BMA, respectively. Further, the peaks at 7.0-7.7 delta and 3.2-4.0 delta, due to -OH proton of LIN and -OCH2 proton of BMA, respectively, have been observed in the H-1-NMR spectrum. The molecular weight ((M) over bar (v)) and eta(int) of the co-polymers have been measured with the help of gel-permeation chromatography in tetrahydrofuran at 25 degrees C to calculate Mark-Houwink constants as alpha = 0.80 and K = 3.0 x 10(-4). The alternating nature of the co-polymer is confirmed by reactivity ratios r(1) (BMA) = 0.016 and r(2) (LIN) = 0.003. The Alfrey-Price Q-e parameters for linalool have been calculated as Q(2) = 0.17 and e(2) = -1.29. Thermal decompositions of co-polymer are established with the help of thermogravimetric analysis. The mechanism of co-polymerization has been elucidated.