Molecular weight distribution in free radical polymerization with long-chain branching

A new theory to predict the molecular weight distribution in free radical polymerization that includes chain transfer to polymer is proposed. This theory is based on the branching density distribution of the primary polymer molecules. The branching density distribution provides the information on how each chain is connected to other chains, and therefore, a full molecular weight distribution can be calculated by application of the Monte Carlo simulation. The present theory accounts for the history of the generated branched structure and can be applied to various reaction systems that involve branching and crosslinking regardless of the reactor types used. The present simulation confirmed the validity of the method of moments in a batch polymerization proposed earlier. It was shown clearly why gelation never occurs by chain transfer to polymer without the assistance of other interlinking reaction such as bimolecular termination by combination. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Gel formation in free radical polymerization via chain transfer and terminal branching

Gel formation in free-radical polymerization via chain transfer to polymer, recombination termination, and terminal branching due to either chain transfer to monomer or disproportionation termination is investigated using the method of moments. It is found that no gel can possibly form in the systems consisting of initiation, propagation, and one of the above reactions. However, systems with the following combination of reactions are found to be capable of gelling. They are: chain transfer to polymer + recombination termination; chain transfer to polymer + terminal branching due to disproportionation termination; and terminal branching due to transfer to monomer + recombination termination. Systems with the following combination of reactions are incapable of gelling; transfer to polymer + terminal branching due to transfer to monomer; and terminal branching due to disproportionation termination + recombination termination. An examination of the gelation mechanisms reveals that the formation of multivinyl macromonomers during the course of polymerization is the reason that systems involving terminal branching gel. Sol/gel diagrams are generated to give critical kinetic parameters required for gelation. It is found that terminal branching does not always promote gelation due to the adverse effect on chain length through chain transfer to monomer and termination by disproportionation, reactions which generate terminal double bonds. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Simulation and analysis of free radical branching copolymerization kinetics

Iｔｉｓｄｉｆｆｉｃｕｌｔａｎｄｅｖｅｎｉｍｐｏｓｓｉｂｌｅｔｏｄｅｔｅｒｍｉｎｅｂｙｒｅｇｕｌａｒｋｉｎｅｔｉｃｓｍｅｔｈｏｄｓｓｏｍｅｋｉｎｅｔｉｃｓｐａｒａｍｅｔｅｒｓｏｆｓｏｍｅｃｏｍｐｌｅｘｃｈｅｍｉｃａｌｒｅａｃｔｉｏｎｓ,ｅｓｐｅｃｉａｌｌｙｐｏｌｙｍｅｒｉｚａｔｉｏｎｒｅａｃｔｉｏｎｓｗｈｏｓｅｍｅｃｈａｎｉｓｍｓｈａｖｅｎｏｔｂｅｅｎｋｎｏｗｎ.Ｗｅｈａｖｅｔｒｉｅｄｔｏｓｏｌｖｅｔｈｉｓｐｒｏｂｌｅｍｂｙｔｈｅｍｅｔｈｏｄｏｆｒｅｇｒｅｓｓｉｏｎａｎｄｓｉｍｕｌａｔｉｏｎｏｆｃ…     

Kinetics of long-chain branching in emulsion polymerization

A kinetic model suitable to deal with the case of branched polymers produced in emulsion both in the case of chain transfer to polymer and propagation to terminal double bond is briefly presented and numerically solved through the method of the moments. Thanks to the “numerical fractionation” approach, the whole molecular weight distribution of the polymer is evaluated while accounting for the compartmentalized nature of the system. The results of some illustrative calculations concerning the effects upon the molecular properties of the final polymer of starved semibatch monomer feed policies, addition of a chain transfer agent and propagation to terminal double bond are discussed.     

Stereocontrol in radical polymerization

The stereospecific radical polymerization of vinyl esters, methacrylates, and alpha-substituted acrylates was studied. Fluoroalcohols, as a solvent, have remarkable effects on the stereoregularity of the radical polymerizations of vinyl acetate, vinyl pivalate, and vinyl benzoate, affording polymers rich in syndiotacticity, heterotacticity, and isotacticity, respectively. This method was successfully applied to the polymerization of methacrylates to give syndiotactic polymers. The steric repulsion between the entering monomer and the chain-end monomeric unit bound by the solvent through hydrogen bonding is important for the stereochemical control in these systems. Lewis acid catalysts, such as lanthanide trifluoromethanesulfonates and zinc salts, were also effective for the stereocontrol during the radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate, to reduce the syndiotacticity and alpha-(alkoxymethyl)acrylates to synthesize isotactic and syndiotactic polymers. Radical polymerization of the methacrylates bearing a bulky ester group, such as the triphenylmethyl methacrylate derivatives, gave highly isotactic polymers, as in the case of anionic polymerization. In addition, the control of one-handed helical conformation was attained in the radical polymerization of 1-phenyldibenzosuberyl methacrylate using chiral neomenthanethiol or cobalt(II) complexes as an additive.     

Vinyl-gem-dichlorocyclopanes in radical polymerization

Vinyl-gem-dichlorocyclopropanes in the presence of radical type initiators undergo isomerizational homo-and copolymerization with vinyl monomers to form copolymers with the random distribution of monomer units in the macrochain. As compared to vinyl monomers like methyl methacrylate, acrylonitrile, and styrene they are considerably less active. By means of ¹³C NMR spectroscopy it was shown that vinyl-gem-dichlorocyclopropanes polymerized forming steroblock polymers of mainly trans-structure.     

Polarons radical polymerization

Polystyrene has been typically prepared with radical polymerization by benzoyl peroxide (BPO) or azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN). In this report, polymerization of styrene was carried out by radical cations of polyaniline (PANI). Polarons of conducting polymers are consisting of radical cations. The polarons bear electrical conduction as a charge carrier. We employ the polarons as an initiator for radical polymerization. Polymerization of styrene and acrylonitrile by the polarons was conducted to explore new possibility of conducting polymers. Fourier‐transfer infrared absorption (FTIR) spectroscopy measurements for the resultant polymers obtained with polarons of polyaniline indicates that the polystyrene thus synthesized grows from polyaniline. The qualitative solubility, average molecular weight, and thermal stability are comparable to that of polystyrene obtained by the common method with BPO. Radical polymerization by polarons may provide a new avenue for radical polymerizations through application of conducting polymer. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2018 , 56, 805–811     

Analysis of polymerization rates in radical polymerization with primary radical termination of some methacrylates

Polymerization rates in polymerizations with primary radical termination of ethyl methacrylate, β-phenylethyl methacrylate, β-methoxyethyl methacrylate, and phenyl methacrylate initiated by 2,2'-azobis-(2,4-dimethylvaleronitrile) at 60°C were analyzed by using a simple linear equation. The values obtained of k_ti/k_ik_p (where k_ti is the primary radical termination rate constant, k_i is the rate constant of addition on to monomer of primary radical, and k_p is the propagation rate constant) on these analyses are discussed on the theoretical base.     

Dithioesters in atom-transfer radical polymerization

Phenyl dithioacetates and bis(isobutyl) dithiocarbamates of Cu(II) and Ti(IV) were studied as chain-transfer agents in the controlled free-radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate and styrene. It was shown that the above compounds strongly decelerate the polymerization of at least one of the monomers. When Cu(II) bis(isobutyl) dithiocarbamate was used in an equivalent ratio with an initiator, the polymerization of MMA proceeded as a well-controlled process and yielded a monodisperse polymer. In other cases, when the concentration of the salt was reduced by two or more times, the most reliable feature of controlled polymerization was observed; that is, the molecular mass of the polymer increased linearly and progressively with an increase in the monomer conversion. The results obtained confirmed that dithiocarboxylate and dithiocarbamate groups can, similarly to halides, interact with transition-metal compounds through ligand-(atom)-transfer redox reactions.     

Azanorbornenes in radical polymerization reactions

Activity of azanorbornenes: N-benzyl-2-azanorborn-5-ene, (2-azanorborn-5-en-2-yl)methyl acetate, and N-allyl-2-azanorborn-5-ene in radical homo-and copolymerization with vinyl monomers and sulfur dioxide was studied.     

Composite cure kinetic analysis of unsaturated polyester free radical polymerization

Curing kinetics of unsaturated polyester resin system exhibiting apparent induction periods was investigated by modeling free radical initiation and propagation processes. The isothermal curing induction time as well as the maximum-rate time provided the same activation energy in the Arrhenius relation, and therefore, the isothermal curing master curve was constructed by using the reduced time method. Two model elementary rate equations for radical and monomer were proposed to describe the free radical polymerization of unsaturated polyester resin systems. The power law was adopted to express the conversion dependence function of the initiation efficiency and the monomer reaction rate. Demonstrating the capability of the developed model, the agreement between experimental and predicted data was excellent in both isothermal and dynamic-heating conditions, even with the same model parameters in different thermal conditions. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 35 : 2447–2456, 1997     

Long branching in poly(vinyl acetate) and poly(vinyl alcohol). III. Kinetic study of the branching reaction in the radical polymerization of vinyl acetate

The branching reaction in the radical polymerization of vinyl acetate was studied kinetically. Branching occurs by polymer transfer as well as terminal double-bond copolymerization. The chain-transfer constants to the main chain (C_p,2) and to the acetoxy methyl group (C_p,1) on the polymer were calculated on the basis of the experimental data described in the preceding paper giving C_p,2 = 3.03 × 10^?4, C_p,1 = 1.27 × 10^?4 at 60°C, and C_p,2 = 2.48 × 10^?4, C_p,1 = 0.52 × 10^?4 at 0°C. Chain transfer to monomer is important with respect to the formation of the terminal double bond. The total values of transfer constants to the α- or β-position in the vinyl group and the acetoxymethyl group in vinyl acetate was determined to be 2.15 × 10^?4 at 60°C. The transfer constant to the acetyl group in the monomer (C_m,1) was also evaluated to be 2.26 × 10^?4 at 60°C from the quantitative determination of the carboxyl terminals in PVA. These facts suggest that the chain-transfer constant to the α- or β-position in the monomer (C_m,2) is nearly equal to zero within experimental error. Copolymerization reactivity parameters of the terminal double bond were also estimated. In conclusion, it has become clear that the formation of nonhydrolyzable branching by the terminal double-bond reaction can be almost neglected, and hence that the long branching in PVA is formed only by the polymer transfer mechanism. On the other hand, a large number of hydrolyzable branches in PVAc are prepared by the terminal double-bond reaction rather than by polymer transfer.     

Kinetics of radical polymerization—XXXVII. Investigation of molecular-inhibitors in the radical polymerization of acrylonitrile

The effect of molecular inhibitors with different reactivities was studied for the homogeneous (solution) and heterogeneous bulk-polymerization of AN. p-Nitro-acetophenone, which acts as a weak retarder in solution, strongly decreases the accelerating character of the bulk polymerization. Aromatic nitroso-compounds are strong inhibitors in both homogeneous and heterogeneous polymerizations. The length of the inhibition period depends linearly on the inhibitor concentration. The character and kinetics of the polymerization after the inhibition period are not affected by the nitroso compounds. A novel method has been introduced to determine the length of inhibition period for accelerating heterogeneous polymerization. In every studied system, a considerable stoichiometric anomaly was observed, and attributed to the hot radical effect.     

Kinetic analysis based on the excluded-volume effect for radical polymerization

When the potential of average force based on the excluded volume affects the relative motions of the polymer radicals, the specific rate for bimolecular reaction between them can be approximated as k_t = const. (ns)^?a, where a = 0.153(2b ? 1), b being a constant in the Mark-Houwink equation, and n and s being degrees of polymerization. Introduction of such a rate into kinetic equation yields a relative molecular weight distribution: G(n) = (n/m)^2–2a exp {ph(m^1–a ? n^1–a)}, where m = (2/ph)^1/(1–a) is a degree of polymerization for the maximum in G(n) and ph is a parameter denoting kinetic character. Further, the relationship between polymerization rate R_p, monomer concentration [M], and initiator concentration [ε] is found to be: where σ is a parameter denoting primary radical termination and η and η? are viscosities for an arbitrary solvent and ?-solvent, respectively. These relationships are sufficiently applicable to the data obtained in the polymerizations of styrene and methyl methacrylate.     

Initiating free radical polymerization

The kinetics and mechanism of the initiation and reinitiation of free radical polymerization is reviewed. The importance of understanding the kinetics, specificity and efficiency of initiation and chain transfer when predicting polymerization kinetics and polymer composition is highlighted. These factors are particularly important when making low molecular weight polymers and in living or controlled polymerization processes. Examples of RAFT polymerization and catalytic chain transfer are provided.