Rich-Syndiotacticity of Poly(cyclohexyl methacrylate) Prepared by Modified Microemulsion Polymerization.

Nanoscale poly(cyclohexyl methacrylate) (PCHMA) particles were prepared by a modified microemulsion polymerization procedure. 13C-NMR analysis suggested that such PCHMA samples were higher in syndiotactic content (61-72% rr) and lower in isotactic content (1-3% mm). The glass transition temperatures (Tg's) of the products were also higher than that reported in the literature. The polymer properties, such as particle size, molecular weight, tacticity, and Tg were affected by the reaction conditions. The smaller the particle size, the higher the syndiotacticity, the lower the isotacticity and the greater the molecular weight, then the higher the Tg of the PCHMA samples. Possible mechanism of rich-syndiotacticity was also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]