The copolymerization of methacrylaldehyde with hydrophilic monomers

Copolymers of methacrylaldehyde with hydrophilic monomers — 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate, 5-hydroxy-3-oxapentyl methacrylate, 8-hydroxy-3,6-dioxaoctyl methacrylate, N-ethylmethacrylamide, N,N-diethylacrylamide, and N,N-diethylmethacrylamide — were prepared by solution polymerization in N,N-dimethylformamide initiated with 2,2′-azodiisobutyronitrile. In the copolymer of methacrylaldehyde (1) with 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (2) (r₁ = 0,77, r₂ = 0,36) and in the copolymer of methacrylaldehyde with N,N-diethylacrylamide (r₁ = 3,79, r₂ = 0,14) the content of CH?O groups corresponds to that ot methacrylaldehyde units in the triads comonomer — methacrylaldehyde — comonomer; in the copolymer of methacrylaldehyde with N-ethylmethacrylamide (r₁ = 4,07, r₂ = 0,14) both comonomers react with each other and the content of CH?O groups is very low, while in the copolymer of methacrylaldehyde with 5-hydroxy-3-oxapentyl methacrylate (r₁ = 1,48, r₂ = 0,34) the majority of methacrylaldehyde units contain an unreacted CH?O group.