Beck, Susan Ashley2014-06-242014-06-242014-06-23vt_gsexam:2654http://hdl.handle.net/10919/49104Statistical copolymers of acrylonitrile (AN) and methyl acrylate (MA) were successfully prepared and characterized using reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) copolymerization. A typical copolymer was charged with 15 wt. % MA content. This thesis describes a systematic variation of the RAFT copolymerization variables to optimize this system. In particular, the effects of chain transfer agent, initiator, temperature, and solvent on the copolymer properties were studied.ETDIn CopyrightPoly(acrylonitrile-co-methyl acrylate)RAFTThesis