The copolymerization of styrene (St) and maleic anhydride (MA) was carried out in supercritical carbon dioxide (SC CO₂). It was found that St and MA are easy to copolymerize in SC CO₂ and the conversion can reach 97%, and that very fine and dry powders are obtained. The products were characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), gel permeation chromatography (GPC), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). GPC data showed that the molecular weight of the copolymer reach 3.62 × 10⁴ g mol⁻¹. Scanning electron microphotographs showed the minimum particle size of the product is about 200 nm. DSC measurements indicated that the glass transition temperature (T_g) of the copolymer increases with increasing the MA content in the copolymer. TGA curve showed that the copolymers were decomposed at about 350°C. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2007

Grafting of maleic anhydride (MA) onto styrene–butadiene–styrene triblock copolymer (SBS) was carried out by free radical polymerization using supercritical carbon dioxide (SC CO₂) as a solvent of MA and swelling agent of SBS. The effect of various factors such as monomer concentration, initiator concentration, SC CO₂ pressure, and reaction time on grafting ratio was studied. SBS and the product (SBS-g-MA) were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), gel permeation chromatography (GPC), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). GPC data showed that the molecular weight of SBS-g-MA is bigger than that of SBS. DSC testing indicated that the glass transition temperature (T_g) of SBS-g-MA is higher than that of SBS. By SEM photo, we can observe that some particles which contain more oxygen atom grew out from the surface of SBS-g-MA when grafting ratio reached at 5.6%, and the amount and diameter of particles increased with increasing of grafting ratio. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 102: 4425–4429, 2006