REACTIVE POLYMERS .60. GLYCIDYL METHACRYLATE-STYRENE-ETHYLENE DIMETHACRYLATE TERPOLYMERS MODIFIED WITH STRONG-ACID GROUPS

Glycidyl methacrylate-styrene-ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (GMA-ST-EDMA) terpolymers were prepared by suspension radical polymerization. The polymer is enriched in styrene during the polymerization, and this can be explained by kinetic and thermodynamic factors operating simultaneously. The terpolymers were used in the preparation of strong-acid ion exchangers. Special attention was paid to the stability of ion exchange derivatives under the conditions of ion exchange. The GMA-EDMA copolymer, which according to its IR spectra contained sulfonate groups, was the most stable: its exchange capacity did not decrease even after one hundred exchange cycles. Modified GMA-ST-EDMA terpolymers undergo an autocatalytic hydrolysis of the polymeric matrix, which gradually dissolves. © 1990.