Royal Society of Chemistry, Polymer Chemistry, 2(3), p. 335-342
DOI: 10.1039/c1py00344e
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The nitroxide mediated copolymerization of 2-hydroxyethyl acrylate (HEA) and 2-methoxyethyl acrylate (MEA) is reported. The copolymerization kinetics followed the persistent radical model and revealed the formation of well-defined ideal random copolymers (r(HEA) = 0.93 +/- 0.09; r(MEA) = 0.95 +/- 0.09). SEC-ESI-MS proved the presence of both the initiation fragment and SG1 as chain ends of the polymers. The cloud point temperature of the copolymers increased from 5 degrees C and 60 degrees C with increasing HEA content from 0% to 70% and they are discussed in relation to both monomer and end-group structure.