Mutual solubility and bulk copolymerization of vinyl monomers withN-substituted maleimide

On the basis of the structure and melting parameters of N-substituted maleimide and vinyl monomer, the saturated molar solubility fraction of N-substituted maleimide in vinyl monomer or their mixtures was predicted. The predicted value was consistent with the experimental data. The effects of reaction temperature, initiator concentration, molar fraction of monomer, and monomer feed mode on the copolymerization rate of styrene (St)/N-phenylmaleimide (PMI) were studied. The bulk copolymerization kinetics of methyl methacrylate (MMA)/N-cyclohexylmaleimide, St/PMI/MMA, and St/PMI/acrylonitrile were also investigated. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 73: 2641–2647, 1999