Synthesis and characterisation of fluorescent polyacrylonitrile copolymers with 1,8-naphthalimide side chains

Radical polymerisation of acrylonitrile in the presence of five polymerisable fluorescent 4-allylamino-1,8-naphthalimide dyes, has been investigated. It was found that the monomeric dyes took part in the polymerisation and were covalently bound in the polymer chain obtaining fluorescent side-group polyacrylonitrile. It was established that 0.70-0.88 wt.% of the dyes are chemically bound to the polymer chain. Their effect on the polymerisation rate was established and the average viscosimetric molecular weight, of the obtained coloured copolymers estimated. The absorption and some basic photophysical characteristics of low and high molecular weight fluorescent dyes in dimethylformamide are reported. The influence of the studied monomeric 1,8-naphthalimide dyes on the photostability of the coloured polyacrylonitrile, was established. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.