| Abstract: | The rate of soapless emulsion polymerization is studied experimentally and theoretically. The soapless emulsion polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) in water is carried out with potassium persulfate as initiator. It is shown that the soapless emulsion polymerization of MMA gives different time-conversion and time-average molecular weight curves from those of bulk and emulsion polymerizations. Comparing the experimental results with those of the other types of polymerization, features of the rate of soapless emulsion polymerization are discussed and a kinetic model is proposed to apply the soapless emulsion polymerization of MMA in water. The experimental results can be well expressed by this model. |
