Precipitation polymerization of acrylic acid-co-itaconic acid with photo initiation

Polyacrylic acid is an important water-soluble material which is applied in mining, paper manufacturing and oil recovery. It is also, in a lightly crosslinked form, utilized in the personal care sector, most predominantly in diapers. The molecular weight and the ionic character of the polymer are the key factors in determining its utility in particular applications. Poly acrylic acid and their copolymerization are often produced by free radical polymerization with thermal initiators . In this research poly acrylic-co-itaconic acid synthesized via precipitation polymerization with photo initiation initiator at room temperature. With this new method polymerization take place about 2 hours and it’s much less time than equities media with thermal initiators and with this method polymer isolation and purification is simplified. Effect α -methylstyrene dimer as a transfer agent on molecular weight and weight distribution was investigated with gel permeation chromatography (GPC). Synthesized copolymers had a narrow distribution.