Mechanism of bulk copolymerization of styrene and maleic anhydride

Because the interaction between the carbonyl groups of maleic anhydride (Man) and benzene ring of styrene (St) was the major part in the charge transfer complex (CTC) formed by St and Man, The unsaturated carbon-carbon double bond of Man was not in a advantageous position in copolymerization with the ethyl group of St. The calculated data from the Complex-Dissociation Model were coincided well with experimental ones. It is reasonable considered that the bulk copolymerization of St and Man proceeded according to the Complex-Dissociation Model. The fitting data also showed that the probability of alternative copolymerization increased with the increasing of temperature among 70∼140°C.