Vinyl polymerization initiated by ceric ion reducing agent systems in sulfuric acid medium

Polymerization of the monomers, methyl acrylate (MA) and methyl methacrylate (MMA) was carried out in sulfuric acid medium at 15°C. With the redox initiator system, ceric ammonium sulfate–malonic acid. There was no induction period, and a steady state was attained in a short time. There was found to be no polymerization even after 1 hr. in the absence of the reducing agent R. The initiation was by the radical produced from the Ce⁴⁺–malonic acid reaction. The rate of monomer disappearance was proportional to M]^1.5, R]^0.5, and Ce⁴⁺]^0.3–0.5, and the rate of ceric disappearance was directly proportional to R] and Ce⁴⁺]. Chain lengths of the polymers were directly proportional to M] and inversely to R]^1/2 and Ce⁴⁺]^1/2. The experimental results were explained by a kinetic scheme involving the following steps: (a) oxidation of the substrate to give the primary radical which reacts with Ce⁴⁺ to give the products, (b) initiation by the primary radical, (c) propagation, and (d) termination of the growing polymer radicals by the mutual type. For the polymerization of acrylonitrile (AN) by the redox system, ceric ammonium sulfate–cyclohexanone (CH), in sulfuric acid at 15°C., the scheme was modified to include linear type of termination by Ce⁴⁺, along with the mutual termination to explain the results especially under conditions with Ce⁴⁺] ≥ CH].