Photo-initiated copolymerization of allyl and vinyl ethers with dialkyl fumarates: A mechanistic investigation by ESI mass spectrometry

ESI mass spectrometry was used as the main analytic methods for studying the mechanism of the free-radical donor-acceptor copolymerization of diethyl fumarate and with simple vinylether or allylether model monomers. The polymerization was achieved by photo-initiation under soft 365 nm UV light. Particular attention being paid to copolymer composition and to the nature of the end-groups. The MS data allowed for a semi-quantitative evaluation of the different mechanisms taking place, including transfer reactions.127