Abstract

This work presents the synthesis of new poly(itaconate)s containing one or two nitrile pendant groups through conventional radical polymerization. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time in which the synthesis of poly(itaconate)s containing nitrile groups is reported in the literature. The effect of nitrile groups on the main properties is analyzed. Polymer structures were confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), H-1 and C-13 NMR. Molecular weights were measured by size exclusion chromatography (SEC), while thermal characterization was achieved by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Dielectric properties were measured using broadband dielectric spectroscopy at different temperatures. Polymers with one or two nitrile groups presented dielectric constant values (at 25 degrees C and 1 kHz) of around 7 and 12.5, respectively, with relatively low dielectric losses with values below 0.02. BDS measurements showed notorious sub-glass transitions attributed to the movement of the dipolar groups under the electric field, even below - 100 degrees C, allowing to achieve dielectric constant values above the average for polymers even at extremely low temperatures. Therefore, these materials could be considered as good candidates for energy storage applications.