Quad-polymer precursor for producing carbon fiber, method for producing same and method for using same

A method of preparing a quad-polymer composition comprising synthesizing the quad-polymer composition from (a) acrylonitrile, (b) vinylimidazole, (c) methyl acrylate, and (d) an acid selected from the group consisting of acrylic acid and itaconic acid, wherein,

• (i) the quad-polymer has a chemical structure in which:
• (A) when the acid is the acrylic acid, the chemical structure is:
• (B) when the acid is the itaconic acid, the chemical structure is:
• (ii) X, Y, Z, and M are wt % of the quad-polymer composition, and
• (iii) X+Y+Z+M=100%, and
• (iv) n is an integer number of repeating units of the chemical structure.

A quad-polymer composition comprising a first monomer, a second monomer, a third monomer, and a fourth monomer, wherein

• (a) the first monomer is acrylonitrile at a wt % of Y in the quad-polymer composition;
• (b) the second monomer is selected from the group consisting of 1-vinylimidazole, 4-vinylimidazole, 2-vinylimidazole and 1-methyl-2-vinylimidazole, wherein the second monomer is at a wt % of X in the quad-polymer composition;
• (c) the third monomer is an acrylate at a wt % of Z in the quad-polymer composition, wherein the acrylate is selected from the group consisting of methyl acrylate, ethyl acrylate, butyl acrylate, methyl methacrylate, and tert-butyl acrylate;
• (d) the fourth monomer is an acid at a wt % of M in the quad-polymer composition, wherein the acid is selected from the group consisting of acrylic acid, itaconic acid, and methacrylic acid;
• and
• (e) the total of the Y wt % of the first monomer, the X wt % of the second monomer, the Z wt % of the third monomer, and the M wt % of the fourth monomer equals 100%.