Reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) copolymerization of 1-octene and butyl methacrylate (BMA) was carried out for the first time using 4-cyano-4-(phenylcarbonothioylthio)pentanoic acid as RAFT agent in N,N '-dimethyl formamide. Poly(1-octene-co-BMA) copolymers with well-controlled molecular weights and narrow molecular weight distribution were obtained throughout the polymerization. The copolymers have been well characterized by different analytical techniques such as SEC, FT-IR, NMR, SEM, AFM, XRD, and TG analyses. FT-IR and NMR analyses confirmed the synthesis of poly(1-octene-co-BMA) copolymers. SEM and AFM analyses demonstrated the wavy-lamellar morphological structure of the copolymers. Thermogravimetric analysis revealed good thermal stability of poly(1-octene-co-BMA) copolymers synthesized via RAFT mediated polymerization. The thermokinetic parameters were evaluated by adopting model-free methods of Friedman and Flynn-Wall-Ozawa using the nonisothermal thermogravimetric data. The multivariate nonlinear regression analysis established the most appropriate kinetic model and the corresponding kinetic parameters of thermal decomposition of poly(1-octene-co-BMA) copolymers were also calculated. (c) 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2019, 57, 2093-2103