Vinylidene chloride- and styrene-based sulphonate-containing copolymers

Bare polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and polyvinylidene chloride are not commercially used due to their high softening point (185–200 ºС) and the absence of a suitable solvent for obtaining coatings (films) from their solutions.  Therefore, vinyl chloride and vinylidene chloride are mainly applied in the production of copolymers having a lower pour point and better solubility as compared to homopolymers. Polymer materials based on copolymers of vinyl chloride and vinylidene chloride are widely used in a number of industrial applications. Recent research has been focused on monomer rafting onto a vinyl chloride and vinylidene chloride copolymer base by the formation of free radicals as a result of the transfer reaction of a chlorine atom to an initiating agent followed by sulphonation. Membranes obtained from solutions of grafted copolymers possess high proton conductivity values resulting in their perspective application for fuel cell manufacture. In order to obtain such membranes, it is necessary to carry out studies on the synthesis of vinylidene chloride copolymers and the substitution of chlorine atoms with sulphonic acid groups in these copolymers. In the framework of this work, vinylidene chloride and styrene copolymers were obtained by radical copolymerisation. The substitution of chlorine atoms by sulphonic acid groups in the synthesised copolymer was studied. The composition and structure of the copolymers were characterised using elemental analysis and IR spectroscopy data. The co-polymerisation values indicate a greater reactivity of styrene in comparison with vinylidene chloride. The interaction of a vinylidene chloride copolymer and styrene with sodium sulphide is accompanied by dehydrochlorination of vinylidene chloride units. The spatial modified copolymer structures are generated by double bonds formed as a result of elimination in a macromolecule.

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