Chiral Copolymers of (R)-N-(1-Phenyl-Ethyl) Methacrylamide (R-NPEMAM) and 2-Hydroxy Ethyl Methacrylate (HEMA): Investigation of Physico- Chemical Behavior, Thermal Properties and Degradation Kinetics

Abstract

In this paper, we report the microstructural investigation and influence of H-bonding on the thermal behavior e.g., glass transition (Tg) and thermal degradation of chiral copolymers of (R)- N-(1-phenyl-ethyl) methacrylamide (R-NPEMAM) and 2-hydroxy ethyl methacrylate (HEMA). The Tg increases with the increase of chiral unit content in the copolymers and then attains optimum at around 25 mole % of chiral content. Thereafter it decreases with the increase of chiral content. The effect of copolymer composition and secondary interaction associated with the Hbonding on the thermal properties of these copolymers was also studied. Secondary interaction, specifically H-bonding has been interpreted using FTIR analysis. The copolymers thermally degrade in three stages. The first and third stages of degradation are associated with the chiral comonomer (R-NPEMAM) whereas the second stage indicates the degradation due to HEMA unit present in the copolymer chain. The activation energies for these degradations of the copolymers have been evaluated using Flynn-Wall and Kissinger method.