Maleic Anhydride → Butyl Acrylate Maleic Anhydride

Participants

Reaction Conditions

Reaction Steps

To a three-liter, 4-necked, round-bottomed flask eqipped with a stirrer, thermometer, condenser and addition funnel is added 338.6 g. toluene, 142.5 g. of butyl acrylate 22.5 g. maleic anhydride and 0.5 g. of t-butyl peroctoate. The contents are heated to reflux (144° C.) and held for 15 minutes. A monomer mixture composed of 757.5 g. of butyl acrylate, 77.5 g. maleic anhydride and 2.5 g. of t-butyl peroctoate is fed at a uniform rate over the next 23/4 hours to the reaction contents held at 115° C. The mixture is then held at 115° C. for 15 minutes and then chased with 3.0 g. t-butyl peroctoate dissolved in 97 g. of toluene fed over 45 minutes. The reaction flask is equipped with a Dean-Stark apparatus and azeotroped to dryness -- 19.5 g. of water and toluene are removed. The product has 69.8% solids (99.3% monomer conversion) with a viscosity of 3640 cps. (91.7% of the maleic anhydride is converted to polymer and the polymer has a number average molecular weight of 10,000; therefore, an anhydride functionality of 10.)

Provenance & Evidence