Copolymerization and Copolymers of Styrene N-(2,4,6-Tribromophenyl) Maleimide with Styrene

Kinetic studies of the free radical copolymerization of N-(2,4,6- tribromophenyl) maleimide (TBPMI) with styrene in solution were carried out. The thermal and flammability characteristics of the resulting polymers were also investigated. The monomer reactivity ratios were found to be r 1 = 0.006 ± 0.0026 (TBPMI) and r 2 = 0.086 ± 0.0023, and the activation energy of the copolymerization reaction was Ea = 73.6 kJ/mol. The resulting copolymers showed an alternating structure regardless to the monomer feed composition. The molecular weights of the copolymers obtained are relatively high and gradually increase by increasing the TBPMI fraction in the feed, whereas the Tg's showed similar values (540 K) for the equimolar ratio of the comonomers. The course of copolymerization up to high conversion was followed by microcalorimetry and is characterized by a remarkable increase of the initial reaction rate as the fraction of TBPMI was increased; it is also higher at higher total monomer concentrations. However, the overall conversion decreases when the fraction of TBPMI is higher than the equimolar ratio. The thermal stability of the alternating copolymers is higher than that of polystyrene, and their mixture showed appreciable flame-retardant properties, as demonstrated by a limiting oxygen index measurement.