Polymerization initiated by ylide: Polymerization of ethyl methacrylate with the use of 4-picolinium p-chloro phenacylide as initiator

The ylide 4-picolinium, p-chloro phenacylide-initiated thermal polymerization of ethyl methacrylate (EMA) was studied. 4-Picolinium p-chloro phenacylide induces the thermal polymerization of ethyl methacrylate at 65°C. The rate of polymerization (R_p) rose as the initiator concentration increased from 2 × 10^?3 to 4 × 10^?3 M and the initiating exponent was computed as 1.9. The R_p decreased as the concentration of ylide increased from 6 × 10^?2 to 1M. The greater initiator concentration also affected the molecular weight inversely. The polymerization was carried out at different temperatures and the overall activation energy was computed as 4.08 Kcal/mol. Polymerization was inhibited in the presence of hydroquinone as a radical scavenger. Kinetic studies and other data show that the overall polymerization takes place in a radical mechanism. The various kinetic parameters, such as the rate and average degree of polymerization, molecular weight, and energy of activation of the present system, were evaluated.