PREPARATION AND THERMAL-DEGRADATION OF COPOLYMERS OF 2-SULFOETHYL METHACRYLATE AND METHYL-METHACRYLATE

The preparation of random copolymers of methyl methacrylate (MMA) and 2-sulfoethyl methacrylate (2-SEM) is described. These have been characterized by GPC, solubility measurements, titrations to determine acid content, DSC, TGA, and TGA/IR. The degradation of these copolymers has been studied by TGA/IR and sealed tube pyrolysis and a scheme is presented to account for the degradation. The limiting oxygen index increases as the amount of 2-SEM in the polymers increases. Char formation also increases as the amount of 2-SEM in the copolymer increases and there is evidence that methyl methacrylate is incorporated into the char.