Kinetics of Free Radical Copolymerization. V. Copolymerization of Ethyl Acrylate with Styrene. Composition of Copolymers

The composition of copolymers formed at 50°C in ethyl acrylate/ styrene/azo-bis-isobutyronitrile/benzene systems of different composition was investigated. The experimental composition data (based on the elementary analysis of copolymers) were evaluated by the η-ζ transformation method. Finite monomer conversions were taken into account. The classical composition equation was found to describe the system under investigation. The reactivity ratios are p ₁ = 0.152 ± 0.006; p ₂ = 0.787 ± 0.023. The free radical copolymerization of ethyl acrylate and styrene has been investigated in benzene solution at 50°C. Our results on the initiation kinetics were disclosed in our recent publication [1]. Now we are reporting on our studies concerning the composition of ethyl acrylate/styrene copolymers.     

Quasiliving Carbocationic Polymerization. IX. Forced Ideal Copolymerization of Styrene Derivatives

Forced ideal carbocationic copolymerization of α-methylstyrene (αMeSt) with p-tert-butylstyrene (ptBuSt) and (αMeSt) with styrene (St) has been achieved by continuous monomer feed addition to a cumyl chloride/BCl₃ charge at -50°C by keeping the feeding rate of the monomer mixtures equal to the overall rate of copolymerization, The composition of the copolymers was identical to the composition of the monomer feeds over the entire concentration range. A quantitative expression has been derived to show that under forced ideal copolymerization conditions the composition of the copolymer can be controlled by the composition of the feed. Further, conditions have been found for forced ideal quasiliving copolymerizations, i.e., the number-average molecular weight of the copolymers increased almost linearly with the cumulative weight of consumed monomers by the use of suitably slow, continuous feed addition in the presence of relatively nonpolar solvent mixtures (60/40 v/v n-hexane + methylene chloride). In polar solvent (methylene chloride) the molecular weight increase was less pronounced due to chain transfer to monomer involving indane-skeleton formation; however, with charges containing large amounts of ptBuSt the molecular weight increase was surprisingly strong. Interestingly, ptBuSt does not homopolymerize in 60/40 v/v n-hexane/methylene chloride but it readily copolymerizes with αMeSt. This observation was explained by examining the relative rates of terminations of the cationic species involved. Conditions have been found for the pronounced quasiliving polymerization of St. In forced ideal quasiliving copolymerizations neither the molecular weights of αMeSt/ptBuSt or αMeSt/St copolymers nor the initiating efficiencies of the initiating systems used show a depression. The microstructure of representative αMeSt/ptBuSt copolymers obtained under forced ideal quasiliving conditions has been analyzed by ¹³C-NMR spectroscopy. According to these studies, true copolymers have formed and resonance peaks for various triads have been deduced.     

Quasiliving Carbocationic Polymerization. XV. Forced Ideal Copolymerization of Isobutylene-lsoprene

Forced ideal carbocationic copolymerization of isobutylene and isoprene has been achieved by continuous addition of monomer mixtures of different compositions to cumyl chloride/TiCl₄ charges at -50°C. The overall rate of copolymerization could be kept equal to that of addition rate with up to 10 mol% isoprene in the mixed monomer feed. In this monomer concentration range the composition of the copolymer was identical to that of the feeds. At higher diene concentrations in the feed, chain transfer to monomer and other side reactions (intramolecular cyclization, gel formation) could not be completely avoided. The number-average molecular weight of the copolymers increased almost linearly with the amount of consumed monomers at 10 mol% isoprene concentrations in the feed (i.e., in the quasiliving range). According to ¹H-NMR and ¹³C-NMR spectroscopy, the products are random copolymers.     

Quasiliving Carbocationic Polymerization. XII. Forced Ideal Copolymerization of lsobutylene with Styrene

Forced ideal carbocationic copolymerization of isobutylene/styrene systems has been achieved by continuous addition of mixed monomer feeds to 2-chloro-2,4,4-trimethylpentane/TiCl₄ in n-hexane/methylene chloride charge by keeping the input rate equal to the overall rate of copolymerization. The composition of the copolymers was identical to that of the feeds over the entire monomer concentration range. The number-average molecular weight of the copolymers increased almost linearly with the amount of consumed monomers at higher isobutylene concentrations in the feed. The molecular weight increase was less pronounced at higher styrene concentration because more methylene chloride had to be used in the solvent system to keep the copolymer in solution. The micro-structure of the copolymers is uniform as determined by gel permeation chromatography (UV plus RI) and ¹³C-NMR spectroscopy According to these studies, true copolymers have formed. The probability of triads in the copolymer has been determined.     

Propagation Mechanism of Radical Copolymerization of Sulfur Dioxide and Vinyl Chloride

Radical copolymerization of sulfur dioxide and vinyl chloride (VC) has been studied by the comparison of the composition of copolymers obtaining from different reaction conditions, i.e., reaction temperatures, feed compositions, and total monomer concentrations. The composition of VC in copolymer is independent of comonomer composition except at high concentration of VC in feed; it increases with increasing reaction temperature or decreasing total monomer concentration. At lower temperature, the composition of copolymer becomes independent of total monomer concentration. The overall rate of polymerization is proportional to [VC]^1,7 and [SO₂]^0.5. These results were compared with those obtained in our previous study on the SO₂-styrene copolymerization. A propagation mechanism for radical copolymerization of SO₂ and VC is also proposed.     

Studies in cyclocopolymerization. III. Copolymerization of divinyl ether with certain nitrogen-containing alkenes

The copolymerization of divinyl ether with fumaronitrile (A), tetracyanoethylene (B), and 4-vinylpyridine (C) has been studied, azobisisobutyronitrile being used as initiator. The compositions of the copolymers were calculated from their nitrogen and unsaturation content. Over a wide range of initial monomer composition, the mole fraction of A in the copolymers lies in the range 0.55–0.63, and the copolymers contained only 2–3% unsaturation, indicating a high degree of cyclization. The composition of the copolymers of B indicated that cyclization occurred to only a small extent, as the copolymers contained rather high unsaturation content. The values of r₁ = 0.23 and r₂ = 0.12 were obtained. The mole fraction of C in the copolymers lies between 0.85 and 0.998. If the assumption is made that r₁ ? r_c ? 0 and there is predominant cyclization, r₂ = 32.0 in this case. The difference in the composition of the copolymers is attributed to the difference between the electron density of the double bonds in A, B, and C.     

Alternating Copolymerization of Styrene and N-(4-Bromophenyl)Maleimide

Abstract

Free radical copolymerization of styrene (St) and N(4-bro-mophenyl)maleimide (4BPMI) in dioxane solution gave an alternating copolymer in all proportions of feed comonomer compositions. The monomer reactivity ratios were found to be r ₁, = 0.0218 ± 0.0064 (St) and r ₂, = 0.0232 ± 0.0112 (4BPMI), and the activation energy of the copolymerization reaction for the equimolar ratios of comonomer was E _a, = 51.1 kJ/mol. The molecular weights of the copolymers obtained are relatively high, the T _g's showed similar values (490 K), and the thermal stability is higher than that of polystyrene. The initial rate of copolymerization depends on the total concentration of the comonomers and the maximum occurred at higher 4BPMI mol fractions; however, the overall conversion is highest at equimolar comonomer composition. It has been shown that a charge-transfer complex participates in the process of copolymerization. The initial reaction rate was measured as a function of the monomer molar ratios, and the participation of the charge-transfer complex monomer and the free monomers was quantitatively estimated.     

Copolymerization of Allilidene Diacetate with Vinyl Acetate

Abstract

The monomer reactivity ratios for vinyl acetate (VAc)-allilidene diacetate (ADA) copolymerization have never been obtained. The composition of VAc-ADA copolymers was determined by NMR spectroscopy, measuring CH protons corresponding to ADA at 3.1τ and VAc at 5.1τ. The monomer reactivity ratios were evaluated; r₁ = 1.34 ± 0.05 and r₂ = 0.48 ± 0.03, where M₁ = ADA and M₂ = VAc. From these values the Q and e values for ADA were calculated: Q = 0.047 and e = 0.44 by taking Q = 0.026 and e = ?0.22 for VAc. The H value [1] for copolymerization of ADA, VAc, and vinyl chloride (VC) is 0.87.     

Copolymerization and Copolymers of Styrene N-(2,4,6-Tribromophenyl) Maleimide with Styrene

Kinetic studies of the free radical copolymerization of N-(2,4,6- tribromophenyl) maleimide (TBPMI) with styrene in solution were carried out. The thermal and flammability characteristics of the resulting polymers were also investigated. The monomer reactivity ratios were found to be r ₁ = 0.006 ± 0.0026 (TBPMI) and r ₂ = 0.086 ± 0.0023, and the activation energy of the copolymerization reaction was E_a = 73.6 kJ/mol. The resulting copolymers showed an alternating structure regardless to the monomer feed composition. The molecular weights of the copolymers obtained are relatively high and gradually increase by increasing the TBPMI fraction in the feed, whereas the T_g's showed similar values (540 K) for the equimolar ratio of the comonomers. The course of copolymerization up to high conversion was followed by microcalorimetry and is characterized by a remarkable increase of the initial reaction rate as the fraction of TBPMI was increased; it is also higher at higher total monomer concentrations. However, the overall conversion decreases when the fraction of TBPMI is higher than the equimolar ratio. The thermal stability of the alternating copolymers is higher than that of polystyrene, and their mixture showed appreciable flame-retardant properties, as demonstrated by a limiting oxygen index measurement.     

Controlled Composition in Emulsion Copolymerization Application to Butadiene-Acrylonitrile Copolymers

Abstract

The use of gas chromatographic analysis of the actual monomer mixture at fixed time intervals to monitor the composition of copolymers in emulsion copolymerization has been described previously. The design has been now improved by the insertion of a dilution cell to avoid flocculation problems in the loop carrying the reaction medium from the reactor to the injection kit of the chromatograph. Then the copolymerization can be monitored up to completion. This system has been applied to the copolymerization of butadiene and acrylonitrile, and constant composition runs have been compared to the batch. Two main differences are observed. (1) Constant composition copolymers show a unique glass transition interval of limited width instead of two or at least one broad temperature interval for the copolymer produced in batch. (2) In the monitored copolymerizations, the production of insoluble gels is delayed and sometimes totally avoided. The production of the gels is related to the formation of 1,2-butadiene units which appear to be preferentially present in long sequences of butadiene units. The cross-linking process involves the consumption of the pendent vinyl groups by copolymerization with the monomers.     

Radiation-Induced Copolymerization of Thiophene with Maleic Anhydride

Radiation-induced copolymerization of thiophene with maleic anhydride has been studied. On the copolymerization in chloroform solution, the effects of dose rate, polymerization temperature, and, monomer composition and concentration on the yield and molecular weight of the copolymer were determined. The copolymerization proceeds via a radical mechanism with bimolecular termination of propagating polymer radicals, and the apparent activation energy is 5.3 kcal/mole. By NMR spectroscopy of copolymer, it was also found that these monomers copolymerize alternately to give a copolymer having structure I. In this copolymerization, the higher initial rates were obtained at an equimolar composition of monomers and by using solvents containing chlorine, such as CC1₄, CHC1₃, and C₆H₅C1.     

Copolymerization of methyl acrylate and vinyl acetate catalyzed by ethylaluminium chlorides

The copolymerization of vinyl acetate with methyl acrylate in the presence of Et₂AlCl, Et_1.5AlCl_1.5, and Et₂AlCl-benzoyl peroxide systems has been investigated. The influence of monomer ratios and organoaluminium compound concentration on the copolymer yield and composition have been determined and discussed. The monomer sequences distribution has been studied by means of ¹³C-NMR. It was found that organoaluminium compounds in the studied systems catalyze not only the alternating copolymerization, but also the homopropagation of both monomers. An alternating copolymer was obtained in reactions carried out at ?78°C, when a large excess of vinyl acetate was used in the monomer feed.     

Copolymerization of N-vinylpyrrolidone with N-allylated acylhydrazines

The free-radical copolymerization of N-vinylpyrrolidone with N,N-diallyl-N′-acetylhydrazine and N,N-diallyl-N′-butanoylhydrazine has been investigated in bulk and solution. The copolymerization yields random copolymers enriched with N-vinylpyrrolidone units. The kinetic study of the reaction has revealed that the rate of copolymerization decreases with a rise in the fraction of an allyl monomer in the initial monomer mixture. Both double bonds of diallylacylhydrazines are involved in the copolymerization to give rise to five-membered pyrrolidine rings.     

Synthesis of Graft Polymers by Copolymerization of Macromonomer. III. Preparation and Copolymerization of Styrene-Terminated Poly(Oxyethylene) Macromonomer

Styrene-terminated poly(oxyethylene) macromonomers (SOE) with narrow molecular weight distribution and quantitative styrene monofunc-tionality were synthesized. In homopolymerization of SOE, conversion of monomer to polymer was shown to be low in spite of high consumption of the vinyl groups of the SOE molecules. Free-radical copolymer-ization of the macromonomer with methyl methacrylate and styrene occurred smoothly, as opposed to homopolymerization. Cumulative copolymer composition and total conversion were determined from the conversions of macromonomer and comonomer (by weight changes) and by proton NMR of the copolymer. The monomer reactivity ratios were found to be r_a = 0.06 and r_b = 2.0 for the copolymerization of SOE macromonomer (a) with methyl methacrylate (b). In this case the macromonomer exhibited considerably lower reactivity than predicted from its low molecular weight model compound. The monomer reactivity ratios estimated for SOE and styrene were r_a = 0.86 and r_b = 1.20. The reactivity of SOE was comparable to, but somewhat lower than, styrene. The graft copolymers were used as activators in the halogen displacement reaction, and it was found that their catalytic activity depends on copolymer composition and chemical structure.     

Copolymers from Castor Oil Prepolymers (COP). 4. Copolymerization of Methyl Methacrylate with COP

The copolymerization of castor oil prepolymer (COP) with methyl methacrylate (MMA) has been accomplished at 75°C using a free radical initiator. The monomer reactivity ratios of MMA (r₁) and COP (r₂) were determined to be r₁ = 3.04 and r₂ = 0.605. With an increasing concentration of COP in the binary mixture, copolymers with decreasing molecular weight were obtained. The copolymers obtained were powdery substances soluble in many organic solvents.     

Copolymerization and Copolymers of 2,4,5-Tribromostyrene with Methyl Acrylate and Methyl Methacrylate

Abstract

2,4,5-Tribromostyrene (TBSt) was copolymerized with methyl acrylate (MA) or methyl methacrylate (MMA) in a toluene solution using 2,2′-azobisisobutyronitrile as free radical initiator. The copolymerization reactivity ratios were found to be for the system TBSt / MA r₁= 7.4 ± 1.2 (TBSt) and r₂= 0.1 ± 1.4 (MA) and for the system TBSt / MMA r₁ = 1.8 ± 0.2 (TBSt) and r₂ = 0.1 ± 0.2 (MMA). The e and Q values were also calculated. The initial rate of copolymerization, as well as molecular weight of the obtained copolymers for both system linearly increase as the content of TBSt in the monomer mixture increases. Similar behavior has also been established for the course of the copolymerization reactions to high conversions. The resulting copolymers rapidly decompose at temperatures 20–800°C above the decomposition of corresponding (metha)crylate hompolymers. However, the glass transition temperature increases markedly with increasing TBS content.     

Effect of Substituents on the Copolymerization Parameters of Some Phenolic Monomers

Copolymerization parameters of some halogen substituted phenolic monomers have been determined by the linear graphical method of Kelen and Tüdös. The order of reactivity of p-chlorophenol, p-bromophenol and p-iodophenol is found to be the reverse of the order of electronegativity of their halogen substituents when they are copolymerized with p-hydroxy-benzoic acid. On copolymerization with p-cresol, these halogen substituted phenols have reactivity in the same order as the electronegativity of their substituents. This reversal of reactivity of phenolic monomers has been interpreted in terms of (1) opposite polarization caused by electrophilic or nucleophilic substituents present in the common monomers, and (2) the magnitude of their resonance stabilization.

The copolymerization parameters r₁ and r₂ are universally used for the characterization of monomer pairs with regard to their behavior in copolymerization. The classic copolymer equation describes the composition of the copolymer as a function of the reactivity ratios and the composition of the monomer feed. Several authors have used linear [1], nonlinear [2–6], specific coper composition equations [7], and computer programming routines [8] for calculating copolymerization parameters r_l and r₂. Kelen and Tödös [9] have recently.     

Radical Copolymerization of Fluorine Ring-Substituted 2-Phenyl-1,1-dicyanoethylenes with 4-Fluorostyrene: Synthesis and Characterization

Novel copolymers of trisubstituted ethylene monomers, fluorine ring-substituted 2-phenyl-1,1-dicyanoethenes, RC₆H₄CH[dbnd]C(CN)₂ (where R is 2-F, 3-F, and 4-F) and 4-fluorostyrene were prepared at equimolar monomer feed composition by solution copolymerization in the presence of a radical initiator (ABCN) at 70°C. The composition of the copolymers was calculated from nitrogen analysis, and the structures were analyzed by IR, ¹H and ¹³C-NMR. High T _g of the copolymers, in comparison with that of poly(4-fluorostyrene) indicates a substantial decrease in chain mobility of the copolymer due to the high dipolar character of the trisubstituted ethylene monomer unit. The gravimetric analysis indicated that the copolymers decomposed in two stages in the range 210–600°C.     

Copolymerization of oxetane with 3,3-dimethyloxetane-I. Reactivity parameters and microstructure of the copolymers

The copolymerization of 3,3-dimethyloxetane and oxetane has been studied in methylene chloride at 20°, with triethyloxonium tetrafluoroborate as initiator. The copolymerization reactivity parameters are r_DMOx = 0.95 and r_Ox = 1.19. By means of 300 MHz ¹H-NMR spectroscopy, the microstructure of the copolymers could be analyzed in terms of triad abundances. The observed values are in good agreement with the values calculated from the reactivity parameters thus showing the absence of penultimate effects and of re-distribution of the structural units in the copolymers. The results demonstrate that Ox is more reactive than DMOx to either of the two growing species in the copolymerization.     

Alternating copolymer of butadiene and ethylene. I. Copolymerization by TiCl4–R3Al catalyst systems

Alternating copolymerization of butadiene and ethylene was investigated by the TiCl₄?R₃Al system as catalyst with the use of toluene solutions of monomers of various compositions or by introducing a 1:1 gaseous mixture of both monomers into the reaction system. It was found that the copolymer composition is much influenced by the monomer composition or by the flow rate of monomer. Copolymers containing sequences of alternating monomer arrangement are formed by the polymerization of a monomer mixture having a butadiene: ethylene ratio of 4:1. A suitable catalyst for the alternating copolymerization was found to consist of R₃Al?TiCl₄ at a ratio of 2. The addition of amine was found to modify the catalyst to favor the alternating copolymerization but was accompanied by a decrease in catalyst activity.