Abstract
The absorption of radiation by polymeric systems containing pendent aromatic units produces photo-excited states. This phenomenon has generated considerable research interest since polymeric systems may be used for energy collection and transmission.
Poly(Acenaphthalene) was prepared by solution polymerization at 60°C. A series of copolymers of Acenaphthalene and acrylonitrile were prepared by emulsion polymerization. The molecular weights of homopolymer of Acenaphthalene and its copolymers were determined experimentally by viscosity measurements for different runs. The average molecular weight (Mv) was found to be between 18000 and 39000 depending on the copolymer composition ratios in the runs.
Different feed ratios of homopolymers and copolymers were prepared in different run numbers (1-8). Cary 14 Ultra-Violet absorption spectrophotometer was used to determine the UV absorption of polymers with different concentrations at wavelengths range between 250-350 nm. Then the percentages of Acenaphthalene (ACN) in the copolymer and monomer reactivity ratios were calculated.
It was found that Ultra-Violet absorption spectroscopy can be applied to give similar results for the copolymer percentage composition and distribution sequences consistent with elemental analysis and copolymer composition equation. The average lengths of a given sequence has been calculated and the sequence length of ACN units in the copolymer are in close agreement with those obtained using the copolymer composition equation, indicating the highly alternating character of the copolymer Ploy (ACN-CO-AN).