Spectral and chemical determination of copolymer composition of poly (butyl acrylate-co-glycidyl methacrylate) from emulsion polymerization

Batch emulsion polymerization was used for preparing poly(butyl acrylate-co-glycidyl methacrylate) with different copolymer compositions at 75 °C with potassium persulfate as an initiator. Solubility and gel content of the prepared copolymers were studied. Four different spectral (1H-NMR and FTIR) and chemical (elemental analysis and titration) methods were used to determine the copolymer composition. The epoxy was used as a key functional group, particularly in FTIR and titration methods of quantification. Results obtained from the chemical methods showed good agreement with those of the spectral methods. Effects of some probable phenomena occurring during copolymerization were investigated to account for differences of data obtained from the different analytical methods. Finally, the methods were compared and 1H-NMR and elemental analysis were recognized as preferred approaches for the copolymer composition determination.