13C n.m.r. studies on the microstructure of poly(vinylidene cyanide/vinyl benzoate) and poly(vinylidene cyanide/styrene)

Abstract The microstructure of vinylidene cyanide-vinyl benzoate and vinylidene cyanide-styrene copolymers, both of which were prepared by radical copolymerization, were studied by 125 MHz 13 C n.m.r. spectroscopy. The former shows high piezoelectricity, while the latter has low piezoelectricity. It was found that the compositional sequence distribution and tacticity of both copolymers were not largely different from each other, namely, both were highly alternating copolymers with a non-stereoregular structure. Possible origins of piezoelectricity were suggested for vinylidene cyanide copolymers.