Aqueous Polymerization of Methyl Methacrylate Initiated by Ce4+-Glycolic Acid Redox System

The aqueous heterogeneous polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) initiated by the Ce⁴⁺-glycolic acid (GA) redox system was studied at 35 × 0.2°C under a nitrogen atmosphere. The rate of monomer disappearance was proportional to MMA]¹GA]¹Ce⁴⁺]°, and the rate of eerie ion disappearance was found to be directly proportional to Ce⁴⁺] and GA] but independent of MMA]. The activation energy was found to be 34 kJ/mol. The molecular weight of polymethyl methacrylate increased with increasing MMA] and decreased with increasing oxidant]. The effect of increasing H₂SO₄] on polymerization was also studied. The results are compared with those obtained for the aqueous homogeneous polymerization of acrylamide with the same redox pair.