Graft copolymers and composites of poly(methyl methacrylate) and polypyrrole Part I

Pyrrole (Py) 2 was grafted onto a poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) backbone which already contained the Py moiety within, via oxidative polymerization with FeCl3 in nitromethane. Graft copolymers 3 with very low Py amounts were soluble but they became rapidly insoluble with increasing Py content due to the formation of long Py sequences. The properties of the graft copolymers 3, as well as of films cast from the reaction mixture, depended on several reaction conditions. The products 3 were characterized using elemental analysis, UV-Vis, gel permeation chromatography and differential scanning calorimetry.