Abstract: A detailed study of the microstructure of methyl methacrylate (MMA) and butyl acrylate (BA) copolymer prepared by group transfer polymerization (GTP) was carried out by using ¹³C NMR spectroscopy. Methyl methacrylate and butyl acrylate centred triad molar fraction were determined from the quaternary carbon and carbonyl group resonance signals. The experimental sequence concentrations were in agreement with the values calculated from the terminal copolymerization model and Bernoullian statistics. A greater block tendency Of BA monomers may be noticed in both experimental and calculated distribution, which is due to the large difference between the reactivity ratios of MMA and BA in group transfer copolymerization.

Key words: Group transfer copolymerization, Sequence distribution, Methyl methacrylate, Butyl acrylate, ¹³C NMR