Photoinitiation. V. Effect of medium polarity on the acrylonitrile polymerization photoinitiated by naphthalene

The heterogeneous polymerization of acrylonitrile photoinitiated by naphthalene is influenced by the polarity of the reaction medium. The rate of initiation increases with the increasing dielectric strength of the reaction medium. A similar trend is observable for Stern–Volmer constants of naphthalene fluorescence quenching by acrylonitrile. The ratio k_p/k_t^1/2 of the rate constant for propagation and termination reactions is not influenced by a change in the polarity of the reaction medium. The effect of viscosity on the value of k_p/k_t^1/2 known for polymerization in a homogeneous medium was not observed in the reaction systems studied.