Friedel‐Crafts acylation reactions in copolymers of methyl methacrylate and styrene and in mixtures of the homopolymers

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Abstract
In the presence of SnCl4 in 1,2‐dichloroethane solution, copolymers of styrene and methyl methacrylate undergo a Friedel‐Crafts acylation reaction between the ester groups and the ortho position of adjacent styrene units to form a partial ladder polymer. This has been confirmed by infrared and ultraviolet spectral analysis and by observing the influence of substituted styrenes on the rate of the reaction. A similar reaction can be induced to occur between polystyrene and poly(methyl methacrylate). Thermal analysis measurements demonstrate that the degradation properties of copolymers of styrene and methyl methacrylate are profoundly changed by this treatment.