Influence of β‐Cyclodextrin on the Free‐Radical Copolymerization of N ‐(4‐Methylphenyl)maleimide with N ‐Vinylpyrrolidone in Water

Randomly methylated β‐cyclodextrin (me‐β‐CD) is used to include the hydrophobic monomer N ‐(4‐methylphenyl)maleimide (MPM) ( 1 ) yielding the corresponding water‐soluble host‐guest structure 1a . Free‐radical copolymerization of 1a with N ‐vinylpyrrolidone (NVP) ( 2 ) is performed and the reactivity ratios r 1 and r 2 are determined: 0.24 ± 0.03 ( r 2 ) and 1.10 ± 0.05 ( r 1a ). This indicates a preferred incorporation of complexed maleimide into the copolymer chain. In contrast to that, the copolymerization of the uncomplexed monomers 1 and 2 is carried out using organic solvent (DMF/H 2 O) showing reactivity ratios corresponding to nearly alternating copolymerization ( r 2 = 0.09 ± 0.02; r 1 = 0.34 ± 0.03).