Determination of propagation‐rate constant of vinylidene chloride by emulsion polymerization

The propagation‐rate constant of vinylidene chloride (VDC) was determined at 40 and 50 °C, respectively, by applying the so‐called Ugelstad plot to the polymerization‐rate data of the seeded and unseeded emulsion polymerizations of VDC. The values of the propagation‐rate constant k_p thus determined are k_p = 64 dm³/mol · s at 50 °C and k_p = 52 dm³/mol · s at 40 °C, respectively. From these k_p values, the activation energy for propagation reaction was determined to be E_p = 4.2 kcal/mol, which is close to that of vinyl chloride (3.7 kcal/mol). © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 39: 1005–1015, 2001     

Kinetic study of anionic oligomerization of styrene by quantitative SEC

By the method of the absolute quantitative SEC, a process of anionic oligomerization of styrene, initiated by n-butyl lithium, was followed. The concentration of 1–5-mer monodisperse species in different reaction times can be obtained by HPSEC separation. The results showed that the propagation rate constants increased with increasing chain length and converged to a constant. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

The effect of solvent on the homo-propagation rate coefficients of styrene and methyl methacrylate

The free radical propagation rate coefficients of both Methyl Methacrylate (MMA) and Styrene (STY) have been measured using Pulsed-Laser Polymerization. The effect of solvents on the propagation rate coefficient, k_p, is reported for several solvents, namely, bromobenzene, chlorobenzene, dimethyl sulphoxide, diethyl malonate, diethyl phthalate, benzonitrile, and benzyl alcohol, at 26.5°C. This preliminary data indicated that benzyl alcohol (BzA) had a large effect on the MMA propagation reaction. As earlier work indicated that N-methyl pyrrolidinone (NMP) would also have a large effect on the k_p of MMA, Arrhenius parameters were evaluated for both MMA and STY at two different concentrations of monomer in BzA and NMP. BzA had a significant effect (at 95% confidence) increasing both the activation energy (E_a) and the preexponential factor (A) for MMA and STY. In NMP, a similar trend is observed for MMA polymerization; however, while a solvent effect on STY was observed, the effect on E_a and A was too small to discern with confidence. A series of additional experiments was performed to evaluate the influence of camphorsulfonic acid (CSA) as an additive in STY polymerization. There was no effect of CSA on k_p, confirming that the strong effect CSA has on “living” radical polymerization of styrene does not originate from complexation leading to an accelerated propagation step but rather by altering the ratio of active-to-dormant chains in the reaction. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 35 : 2311–2321, 1997     

Details of the emulsion polymerization of styrene using a reaction calorimeter

An automated reaction calorimeter was used to directly monitor the rate of emulsion polymerization of styrene using different emulsifier (sodium lauryl sulfate) and initiator (potassium persulfate) concentrations. By using this technique in conjunction with off-line measurements of the evolution of the particle size distributions, important details of the process were observed. The classical constant rate period (Interval II) often reported for the batch emulsion polymerization of styrene was not seen in this work. Instead, the experimental results suggest that the end of nucleation and the disappearance of monomer droplets take place at approximately the same conversion (36–40%). From the polymerization rate data, important parameters such as the monomer concentration in the polymer particles and the average number of radicals per particle were calculated. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

On the emulsion polymerization of styrene in the presence of a nonionic emulsifier

The batch emulsion polymerization kinetics of styrene (St) initiated by a water-soluble peroxodisulfate in the presence of a nonionic emulsifier was investigated. The polymerization rate versus the conversion curves showed two nonstationary rate intervals, two rate maxima, and Smith–Ewart Interval 2 (nondistinct). The rate of polymerization and number of nucleated polymer particles were proportional to the 1.4th and 2.4th powers, respectively, of the emulsifier concentration. Deviation from the micellar nucleation model was attributed to the low water solubility of the emulsifier, the low level of the micellar emulsifier, and the mixed modes of particle nucleation. In emulsion polymerizations with a low emulsifier concentration, the number of radicals per particle and particle size increased with increasing conversion, and the increase was more pronounced at a low conversion. By contrast, in emulsion polymerizations with a high emulsifier concentration, the number of radicals per particle decreased with increasing conversion. This is discussed in terms of the mixed models of particle nucleation, the gel effect, and the pseudobulk kinetics. The formation of monodisperse latex particles was attributed to coagulative nucleation and droplet nucleation for the polymerizations with low and high emulsifier concentrations, respectively. The effects of the continuous release of the emulsifier from nonmicellar aggregates and monomer droplets, the close-packing structure of the droplet surface, and the hydrophobic nature of the emulsifier on the emulsion polymerization of St are discussed. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 37: 4422–4431, 1999     

Effect of dose rate on emulsion and microemulsion polymerization of styrene

Emulsion and microemulsion polymerization of styrene were initiated with a gamma ray to study the effect of dose rate on polymerization. In both systems, there is an apparent plateau of polymerization rate in the curve of reaction rate vs. conversion. It was shown that emulsion polymerization conformed to the Smith–Ewart theory very well. Changing the dose rate in interval 2 had no great influence on polymerization rate, but it changed the average lifetime of radicals in polymer particles and affected the molecular weight of polymer produced. For microemulsion polymerization it was assumed that in the plateau it is the number of growing polymer particles being kept constant, not the number of polymer particles. When the dose rate was changed while the polymerization came into the constant period, the polymerization rate and the molecular weight of the polymer varied with the dose rate. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 36: 257–262, 1998     

Effect of temperature on styrene emulsion polymerization in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate. II

The batch emulsion polymerization kinetics of styrene initiated by a water‐soluble peroxodisulfate at different temperatures in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate was investigated. The curves of the polymerization rate versus conversion show two distinct nonstationary‐rate intervals and a shoulder occurring at a high conversion, whereas the stationary‐rate interval is very short. The nonstationary‐state polymerization is discussed in terms of the long‐term particle‐nucleation period, the additional formation of radicals by thermal initiation, the depressed monomer‐droplet degradation, the elimination of charged radicals through aqueous‐phase termination, the relatively narrow particle‐size distribution and constant polydispersity index throughout the reaction, and a mixed mode of continuous particle nucleation. The maximum rate of polymerization (or the number of polymer particles nucleated) is proportional to the rate of initiation to the 0.27 power, which indicates lower nucleation efficiency as compared to classical emulsion polymerization. The low activation energy of polymerization is attributed to the small barrier for the entering radicals. The overall activation energy was controlled by the initiation and propagation steps. The high ratio of the absorption rate of radicals by latex particles to the formation rate of radicals in water can be attributed to the efficient entry of uncharged radicals and the additional formation of radicals by thermally induced initiation. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 38: 1477–1486, 2000     

Effect of temperature on the number of active sites and propagation rate constant at ethylene polymerization over supported bis(imino)pyridine iron catalysts

The inhibition of ethylene polymerization with radioactive carbon monoxide (¹⁴CO) was used to obtain data on the number of active sites (C_P) and propagation rate constant (k_P) at ethylene polymerization in the temperature range of 35–70 °C over supported catalysts LFeCl₂/Al₂O₃, LFeCl₂/SiO₂, and LFeCl₂/MgCl₂ (L: 2,6‐(2,6‐(Me)₂C₆H₃N = CMe)₂C₅H₃N) with activator Al(i‐Bu)₃. The values of effective activation energy (E_eff), activation energy of propagation reaction (E_P), and temperature coefficients of variation of the number of active sites (E_Cp = E_eff ? E_P) were determined. The activation energies of propagation reaction for catalysts LFeCl₂/Al₂O₃, LFeCl₂/SiO₂, and LFeCl₂/MgCl₂ were found to be quite similar (5.2–5.7 kcal/mol). The number of active sites diminished considerably as the polymerization temperature decreased, the E_Cp value being 5.2–6.2 kcal/mol for these catalysts at polymerization in the presence of hydrogen. The reactions of reversible transformations of active centers to the surface hydride species at polymerization in the presence and absence of hydrogen are proposed as the derivation of E_Cp. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 6621–6629, 2008     

Kinetics and mechanisms in carbocationic polymerization: The quest for true rate constants

This article is a critical analysis of kinetic dataavailable on carbocationic polymerizations. A survey of published propagation rate constant (k_p) data revealed several orders of magnitude differences. In this article, an explanation of this apparent discrepancy is offered with a case study involving the carbocationic polymerization of 2,4,6‐trimethylstyrene (TMS). With the polymerization mechanism originally proposed for this system, k_p = 1.35 × 10⁴ L mol^?1 s^?1 was extracted from experimental data with the Predici polyreaction package. The alternative mechanism yielded k_p = 1.01 × 10⁷ L mol^?1 s^?1, close to that predicted by Mayr's Linear Free Energy Relationship (LFER). We propose that true rate constants can only be obtained from direct competition experiments or from kinetic interpretation based on independently proven mechanisms. The second part of this review discusses critical analysis of the temperature and concentration dependence of various living IB systems. Comparison of the temperature dependence in systems initiated with 2‐ chloro‐2,4, 4‐ trimethylpentane (TMPCl)/TiCl₄ from various laboratories yielded of ΔH ～?25 and ?34.5 kJ/mol for high and low TMPCl/TiCl₄ ratios, respectively. Aromatic (cumyl‐type) initiators show ΔH ～ ?40 kJ/mol, whereas H₂O/TiCl₄ in the presence of the strong electron‐ pair donor dimethylacetamide gave ΔH = ?12 kJ/mol. The significant differences indicate different underlying mechanisms with complex elementary reactions. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 43: 5394–5413, 2005     

Reactive surfactants in heterophase polymerization. Part XXI—kinetics of styrene dispersion polymerization stabilized with poly(ethylene oxide) macromonomers

The kinetics of styrene dispersion polymerization, using poly(ethylene oxide) macromonomers as precursors for the stabilization, has been studied. The conversions of both styrene and macromonomers have been determined. The effects of various parameters such as the polarity of the medium, the nature and the amount of macromonomer and the concentrations of the reactants have been studied. A strong gel effect was observed, the main polymerization process taking place inside the particles where the average number of radicals per particle may be more than a thousand. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Derivation of rate constant ratios for consecutive second‐order irreversible reactions

The determination of rate constants for consecutive irreversible reactions is a difficult and time‐consuming problem, especially when the research extends up to many subsequent products. Thus, the derivation of proper mathematical expressions would greatly facilitate the determination of these rate constants when only the rate constant of the first consecutive reaction is known. Many authors have dealt with this problem in the past but the issue is still of interest to the scientific community judging from recent publications. This paper aims at extending our knowledge of mathematical expressions for rate constant ratios of consecutive reactions to more than three reactions, as is the situation now, and offering a simple graphical estimation of the rate constant ratios exploiting the maxima of each intermediate product. Furthermore, the method extends to the derivation of a generic formula for the estimation of the rate constant ratios based on this graphical approach. This approach for the estimation of rate constant ratios based on mathematical expressions and graphical estimations was validated against experimental data found in the literature.     

On the Validity of the Steady-State Approximation in Non-Isothermal Kinetics: Part IV. The case of constant rate thermal analysis

The paper investigates the validity of steady-state approximation for the case of constant rate thermal analysis experiments. It is shown that the approximation holds for the experiments run with a controlled rate of either the decomposition of the compound, or the production of gas.This revised version was published online in November 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Kinetics of the microemulsion polymerization of styrene with short‐chain alcohols as the cosurfactant

The kinetics of styrene microemulsion polymerization stabilized by sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and a series of short‐chain alcohols (n‐C_iH_2i+1OH, abbreviated as C_iOH, where i = 4, 5, or 6) at 60 °C was investigated. Sodium persulfate was used as the initiator. The microemulsion polymerization process can be divided into two intervals: the polymerization rate (R_p) first increases to a maximum at about a 20% conversion (interval I) and thereafter continues to decrease toward the end of the polymerization (interval II). For all the SDS/C_iOH‐stabilized polymerization systems, R_p increases when the initiator or monomer concentration increases. The average number of free radicals per particle is smaller than 0.5. The molecular weight of the polymer produced is primarily controlled by the chain‐transfer reaction. In general, the reaction kinetics for the polymerization system with C₄OH as the cosurfactant behaves quite differently from the kinetics of the C₅OH and C₆OH counterparts. This is closely related to the different water solubilities of these short‐chain alcohols and the different concentrations of the cosurfactants used in the preparation of the microemulsion. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 39: 898–912, 2001     

Dispersion polymerization of styrene in alcohol media: Effect of initiator concentration,solvent polarity,and temperature on the rate of polymerization

The effects of three different variables (initiator concentration, polarity of the solvent and reaction temperature) on the rate of dispersion polymerization of styrene in alcohols have been investigated. It was found that the rate of polymerization increases with the initiator (AIBN) concentration at the 0% conversion level and becomes independent of it at higher monomer conversions. More significant was the result that the rate was also found to increase with solvent polarity. This is consistent with thermodynamic equilibrium calculations which account for the partitioning behavior of monomer and solvent in both the solution and the particle phases. The results further suggest the existence of two different kinetic regions: one at low conversions, where the reaction takes place primarily in the solution phase, and one at high conversions, where the reaction takes place primarily in the particle phase. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 35 : 2907–2915, 1997     

Polymer-supported titanium catalysts for syndiotactic polymerization of styrene

Poly(styrene-co-acrylamide)(PSAm)-titanium complexes (PSAm · Ti) were prepared and characterized. It is found that the coordination number of acrylamide (Am) to Ti in the complexes is strongly dependent on Am content in PSAm, but not on [Am]/[Ti] ratio in the feed. The infrared and x-ray photoelectron spectra suggest that the polymer-supported complexes possess the structure The catalytic behavior of the complexes in styrene polymerization is described. The catalytic activity is markedly affected by [Al]/[Ti] ratio in the complexes. ¹³C NMR, IR, and DSC data indicate that the polystyrene obtained with PSAm · Ti/MAO (MAO = methylaluminoxane) is highly syndiotactic. Use of Et₃Al and i-Bu₃Al in place of MAO gives atactic polystyrene. The activities of the various aluminum compounds used as the cocatalysts decrease in the order: MAO > Et₃Al > i-Bu₃Al. The polymer-supported complexes show relatively high activity even after the complexes had been exposed to air for 19 h or higher polymerization temperature. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Living carbocationic polymerization. LXII. Living polymerization of styrene,p-methylstyrene and p-chlorostyrene induced by the common ion effect

The effect of common anion producing salt, tetrabutylammonium chloride (n-Bu₄NCl), on the livingness and kinetics of styrene (St), p-chlorostyrene (pClSt), and p-methylstyrene (pMeSt) polymerization initiated by the 2-chloro-2,4,4-trimethylpentane (TMPCl)/TiCl₄ system has been investigated. Uncontrolled (conventional) carbocationic polymerization of St and p MeSt can be converted to living polymerization by the use of n-Bu₄NCl. Under similar conditions the polymerization of p ClSt is living even in the absence of n-Bu₄NCl, although the molecular weight distribution (MWD) of the polymer becomes narrower in the presence of this salt. The apparent rates of polymerizations decrease in the presence of n-Bu₄NCl in proportion with the concentration of the salt. The rate of living polymerization of p ClSt is noticeably lower than that of St, while that of p MeSt is higher. The apparent rate constants, k_p^A, of these polymerizations have been determined, and the effects of the electron donating p Me- and electron withdrawing p Cl-substituents relative to the rate of St polymerization have been analyzed. [For part LXI, see J. Si and J. P. Kennedy, Polym. Bull., 33 , 651 (1994)]. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 35 : 3341–3347, 1997     

Recombination rate constant of free electrons and holes in thin CdSe films

The decay kinetics of electrons generated in thin CdSe films by laser pulse (wavelength 337 nm, pulse duration 8 ns) at 295 K was studied by the microwave photoconductivity method (36 GHz). Based on analysis of the photoresponse decay kinetics and the reactions of free and trapped electrons, holes, and ions, a model for the processes was proposed and the recombination rate constant of free electrons and holes in cadmium selenide was determined, being (4–6)· 10–11 cm³ s⁻¹. Published in Russian in Izvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 5, pp. 740–743, May, 2006. The samples were kindly presented by Yu. V. Meteleva.     

On the propagation rate constants of cationic polymerizations

The concepts employed to explain polymerizations by ionizing radiations are used for a critical examination of the concepts involved in interpreting the kinetics of chemically initiated cationic polymerizations. It is explained how the interactions of the propagating carbenium ions with the solvent, monomer, and anion can result in the formation of up to six distinct unpaired species and several kinds of ion pairs; therefore, the consumption of the monomer can be governed simultaneously by many rate constants. Only one of these can have any general theoretical use, and suggestions are made for how it can be measured. For the first time, it is shown that the ion‐pairing process must involve a ligand displacement and so resembles the amination of the Ag⁺ ion, for example, in an aqueous solution by NH₃, rather than an association of inert ions of unchanging identity. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 40: 2537–2544, 2002     

Evolution of the termination rate coefficient in styrene polymerization

Styrene bulk polymerization was conducted at 70 °C with a high initiator concentration, and this ensured that the dominant chain‐stopping mechanism was the combination of free radicals. The evolution of the molecular weight distribution (MWD) of the polymer was measured via the periodic removal of samples during the course of the reaction and their analysis with gel permeation chromatography. The overall termination rate coefficient was independent of the conversion in the dilute regime, as observed from cumulative MWDs. In the middle of the conversion range, the observed trend was compatible with a translational‐diffusion‐controlled mechanism for the termination step. A bimodal distribution of the molecular weights was also found at high conversions and could be explained in terms of an increase in the free‐radical concentration and a very low termination rate coefficient. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 43: 178–187, 2005     

Determination of propagation rate coefficients for an α‐substituted acrylic ester: Pulsed laser polymerization of dimethyl itaconate

Pulsed laser polymerization experiments have been performed on the bulk polymerization of dimethyl itaconate over the temperature range 20–50 °C. The activation energy and frequency factor were calculated as 24.9 kJ/mol⁻¹ and 2.15 × 10⁵ L/mol⁻¹s⁻¹, respectively. The activation energy is comparable with the methacrylate series of monomers. The frequency factor is relatively small and reflects steric hindrance in the transition state caused by the bulky 1,1, disubstitution in the monomer (and consequently the radical). The Mark–Houwink–Kuhn–Sakurada constants were also determined for poly(dimethyl itaconate) in tetrahydrofuran, these are reported as 46 × 10⁻⁵ dL/g (K) and 0.51 (α). The influence of penultimate units (γ‐substituents) on homopropagation reactions is discussed particularly for polymerizations leading to significant 1,3 interactions in the resultant polymer. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 38: 2192–2200, 2000