Copolymerization of cyclopentadiene and N-phenylmaleimide

Summary

The addition of cyclopentadiene containing a free radical catalyst having a half-life of less than two hrs at reaction temperature, to a solution of N-phenylmaleimide in chlorobenzene at 85°C, or the simultaneous addition of both solutions separately to a reaction tube preheated to 80–195°C, yields a saturated 1∶2 cyclopentadiene-N-phenylmaleimide copolymer, identified by elemental analysis and ¹H-NMR spectroscopy, analogous to the formation of a saturated 1∶2 copolymer in the reaction of cyclopentadiene with maleic anhydride under similar conditions.