Chain transfer in ethylene polymerization. V. The effect of temperature

In order to determine the effect of temperature on the chain-transfer reaction in the free-radical polymerization of ethylene, chain-transfer constants were measured for sixteen transfer agents at 130°C and 200°C at 1360 atm. The results were interpreted as ΔE*, the activation energy of the chain-transfer constant. This value is equal to the difference in activation energy between the transfer step (hydrogen abstraction) and the propagation step (addition to the monomer double bond): ΔE* = E_s* ? E_p*. Excellent agreement was found between measured ΔE* values determined at 1360 atm pressure and (E_s* ? E_p*) data for ethyl radical determined in vacuum gas-phase reactions. Apparently, the ethyl radical is a good model for polyethyl radical. The chain-transfer constant of ethylbenzene was found to be insensitive to temperature changes, indicating that E_p* = E_s* for this compound.