Synthesis and styrene copolymerization of novel fluoro-iodo, trifluoromethyl, and trifluoromethoxy ring-substituted isobutyl phenylcyanoacrylates

Novel fluoro-iodo, trifluoromethyl, and trifluoromethoxy ring-substituted isobutyl phenylcyanoacrylates, RPhCH=C(CN)CO₂CH₂CH(CH₃)₂ (where R is 2-fluoro-5-iodo, 2-fluoro-6-iodo, 2-trifluoromethyl, 3-trifluoromethyl, 4-trifluoromethyl, 2-trifluoromethoxy, 3-trifluoromethoxy, 4-trifluoromethoxy) were synthesized by the piperidine catalyzed Knoevenagel condensation of ring-substituted benzaldehydes and isobutyl cyanoacetate and characterized by CHN analysis, IR, ¹H and ¹³C NMR. The acrylates were copolymerized with styrene in solution with radical initiation (ABCN) at 70C. The compositions of the copolymers were calculated from nitrogen analysis.