The reactivity of 3-methyl- and 5-methyl-1-vinylpyrazoles in free-radical polymerization

3-Methyl-l-vinylpyrazole (M3VP) and 5-methyl-1-vinylpyrazole (M5VP) were isolated as individual substances by vacuum rectification of their mixture (M3VP: M5VP 60 40). For each of them the kinetics of free-radical polymerization in MeOH were measured at low conversions. In both cases the rate of polymerization is proportional to 0.5 order with respect to the initiator (AIBN) concentration. On the other hand, a first order of reaction with respect to monomer concentration is observed only when the latter is relatively low (3M). At higher initial concentrations of monomers the order of reaction becomes less than unity. The overall rate of polymerization for M5VP was higher than for M3VP, whereas the initiation rate remained constant in the whole range of monomer concentrations and did not depend on the exact structure of the monomer. The difference in the rates of polymerization observed for M3VP and M5VP is probably connected with the difference in the key parameterk _p/k _t ^1/2 for each of the two isomers. It is concluded that the correct kinetic information about homo- and co-polymerization of M3VP and M5VP cannot be obtained without their adequate separation.Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 2, pp. 413–415, February, 1993.