Functional copolymers of N-(4-formyl-phenoxy-4′-carbonylphenyl) maleimide with styrene

A new reactive N-substituted maleimide monomer containing an aldehyde function, N-(4-formyl-phenoxy-4'-carbonylphenyl) maleimide (MI-CHO), was synthesized. The radical copolymerization of MI-CHO with styrene was performed at 60 degrees C in the presence of 2,2'-azoisobutyronitrile as an initiator in dimethylsulfoxide. The copolymerization of MI-CHO with styrene yielded the 'nearly equimolar' alternating copolymers for the mole fractions of MI-CHO in the feed ranging from 0.2 to 0.7. The monomer reactivity ratios (r(1), r(2)) in the polymerization of MI-CHO (M-1) with styrene (M-2) and the Alfrey-Price Q(1) and e(1) parameters were determined. The thermal properties of the copolymers were investigated by using thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry.