| Abstract: | The emulsion polymerization of vinyl acetate using potassium persulfate and cyclohexanone sodium bisulfite as redox pair initiation system was studied. The rate of polymerization, maximum conversion, and the number of polymer particles produced were found to change with redox initiator, monomer and emulsifier concentrations, and temperature variation. The rate of polymerization was found to be dependent on the initiator, the monomer, and the emulsifier concentrations to the 0.88, 0.22, and 0.20 powers, respectively. The K2S2O8–NaHSO3 redox system was found to decrease maximum conversion and doesn't form a stable emulsion. The apparent arrhenius activation energy (Ea) estimated for the polymerization system was 65.6 kJ/mol. The viscosity average molecular weights for some obtained poly(vinyl acetate) were determined. |
