Acrylonitrile–4‐vinylpyridine copolymers effect of comonomer sequence distribution on properties

Abstract Acrylonitrile–,4‐vinylpyridine copolymers were prepared in chloroform solution at 60°C with AIBN as initiator. Copolymer compositions were determined from their 15.01‐MHz 13C‐NMR spectra. Reactivity ratios of rAN = 0.093 and r4VP = 0.32 were calculated by the Kelen and Tudos method. The run number, number‐average sequence lengths, and monomer sequence distributions were also calculated. The Tg values of the copolymers, their dye uptake, and degree of alkaline hydrolysis were influenced by the overall copolymer composition but particularly by the monomer sequence distribution in the copolymers.