Kinetic and Copolymer Composition Investigations of the Free Radical Copolymerization of 1‐Octene with Glycidyl Methacrylate

Abstract Kinetic and copolymer composition investigations of the free radical copolymerization of 1‐octene with glycidyl methacrylate are reported. The chemical structure of the obtained copolymers is elucidated by 1 H, 13 C, heteronuclear single quantum coherence nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and infrared spectroscopies. 1 H NMR measurements indicate that a maximum statistical incorporation of 1‐octene in the copolymer chain of 32 mol% is obtained when 90 mol% of this comonomer is used in the initial monomer feed of the copolymerization reaction. Furthermore, the reactivity ratios of this comonomer system are estimated using the obtained experimental data, which are fitted to the integral form of the copolymerization equation utilizing a nonlinear least squares approach. To the best of knowledge, this is the first report on the reactivity ratios of this specific comonomer system. To evaluate the potential of the obtained materials as dispersants, the effect of the polymer concentration on the dispersion of copper nanopowders in organic solvents is studied for a copolymer with a 1‐octene composition of 25 mol%.