A comparison between C-13 NMR spectra of polymer solutions and Fourier transform infrared spectra of polymer films for several ethene-butadiene copolymers, including most butadiene as 1,2-cyclopropane and 1,2-cyclopentane units, is presented. This spectral comparison, also with the help of a low-molecular-mass model compound specifically synthesized for this purpose, has allowed to locate infrared absorbances associated with the cyclic comonomer units. In particular, a satisfactory calibration curve for evaluation of the amount of the reactive cyclopropane units, from the absorbance of the 1020 cm(-1) band, has been achieved. An analysis of 1,2-cyclopropane unit reactivity in annealed films, has also pointed out that the presence of remnants of the polymerization catalyst can produce large increase in cyclopropane reactivity. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All fights reserved.