Synthesis and Characterization of Sustainable Copolymers with Methacrylate Monomers based on ?-Myrcene

Abstract

Abstract:The synthesis of copolymers from renewable resources, such as terpenes and a series of
methacrylate monomers, was conducted by emulsion polymerization using ammonium persulfate as the
initiator. The polymerization of ?-myrcene monomers with ethyl methacrylate, benzyl methacrylate and 2-
ethyl hexyl methacrylate monomers is described as a simple approach to obtain a wide range of industrial
latex that can be used in many industries; additionally, these products can be vulcanized and converted
into sustainable semi-synthetic rubber. The optimized reaction conditions of the copolymers were also
investigated. Moreover, the obtained copolymer compositions were characterized, and the glass transition
temperatures of the produced copolymers were determined by differential scanning calorimetric (DSC)
measurements that clearly indicated their rubbery nature. Additionally, the weight losses of the
crystallization, melting and degradation phases were examined by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The
microstructures of the produced copolymers were determined by quantitative 13C and 1H nuclear magnetic
resonance (NMR) spectra to validate the composition of the copolymers using 50/50 comonomer
reactivity ratios.