Synthesis of N-alkyl- and N-arylalkylacrylamides and micellar copolymerization with acrylamide

Different series of alkyl- and arylalkylacrylamide have been synthesized, the number of methylen units of the side chain varying from 2 to 10. They were obtained by the reaction of acryloyl chloride and the corresponding amine. The arylalkylacrylamide containing hexyl and decyl chains were prepared from the appropriate halogenous compounds by a multi-step synthesis. These monomers were then copolymerized, in low proportion (≤2 mol%) with acrylamide under micellar conditions. Copolymers were taken to a conversion of about 30%. This method is known to lead to multiblocks copolymers in which the number and the length of the hydrophobic blocks could be monitored by the initial number of hydrophobes per micelle. The copolymers composition was established by NMR and elemental analysis. The hydrophobic level indicates an increase of the apparent reactivity of the hydrophobic monomer due to the solubilization of this latter in micelles. This drift in composition increases upon increasing the number of hydrophobes per micelle.