Influence of the solvents on the γ-ray polymerization of acrylic acid. I.

Bulk polymerization of acrylic acid is controlled by linear plurimolecular H-bonded aggregates of the monomer. It is proved that it is not the precipitating medium that is responsible for the accelerated rate of the polymerization, but the presence of the H-bonded plurimolecular aggregates. It has been shown that the presence of the previously formed polymer is important, as it gives a matrix effect which allows the monomer aggregated to be stabilized by associating with the polymer. In polymerizing acrylic acid solutions, two types of solvents have been characterized: first, the polar solvents which do not destroy the H-bonded aggregates up to high dilutions. Then, in the presence of hydrocarbons or chlorinated solvents, 10–20% of the solvents dissociate the aggregates. A very striking parallelism is observed between the polymerization kinetics and the associated form of the monomer.     

Polymerization and copolymerization in associated monomer aggregates

The polymerization of acrylic acid in bulk is controlled by linear plurimolecular H-bonded aggregates of the monomer which lead to the formation of a syndiotactic polymer. Polar solvents do not dissociate these aggregates unless high dilutions are reached. In contrast, “normal” kinetics are observed in the presence of 10–20 per cent toluene, n-hexane or chloroform. The polymerization of methacrylic acid is not affected to the same extent by molecular aggregates. In the copolymerization of acrylic acid with methyl acrylate or acrylonitrile, the reactivity ratios are altered by solvents. The acrylic acid content is higher in copolymers formed in bulk than in toluene solution. But similar effects are observed in the presence of DMF which does not dissociate the aggregates of acrylic acid; moreover, copolymerization data obtained with methacrylic acid indicate that other factors may be involved in determining reactivity ratios.Acrylamide also forms H-bonded aggregates and its copolymerization behaviour is strongly affected by solvents. No simple correlation holds, however, between reactivity ratios and extent of association.A very strict control of chain propagation occurs when 4-vinylpyridine is polymerized in the presence of polycarboxylic acids. A considerable rate increase was observed when vinylpyridine was grafted into polytetrafluoroethylene films which contained poly(acrylic acid) branches. This effect is explained by assuming that the pyridine groups form strong associations with the carboxylic sites, thereby providing a very favourable orientation of the vinyl groups for chain propagation.     

The polymerization of 3-chloro-1-propyne and 3-bromo-1-propyne with Mocl5 and WCL6 based initiators and the structure of the resulting polymers

The WCl₆ and MoCl₅ initiated polymerizations of 3-chloro-1-propyne and 3-bromo-1-propyne were performed in both halogenated and aliphatic non-nucleophilic and in aromatic nucleophilic solvents. The structure of the obtained polymers suggested that the polymerization reaction occurs in two steps. In both nucleophilic and non-nucleophilic solvents, the first step consists of the metathesis polymerization of 3-chloro(bromo)-1-propyne followed by electrophilic cis–trans isomerization leading to polymers containing trans-cisoidal allyl chloride or bromide structural units. When the polymerization is performed in non-nucleophilic solvents, in the second step an intramolecular electrophilic addition followed by elimination takes place. The resulting polymers contain a highly conjugated cyclopentadiene ladder structure. When the polymerization is performed in nucleophilic aromatic solvents, the intramolecular electrophilic addition competes with the electrophilic substitution of the solvent resulting in polymers containing high concentrations of arylpropenyl structural units. Subsequently, depending on the nucleophilicity of the polymerization solvent, the polymer structure contains structural units based on cyclopentadiene and/or arylpropenyl groups.     

Synthesis and characterization of monomers and polymers for adhesives from methyl oleate

The focus of this work is to synthesize a monomer from a fatty acid methyl ester capable of forming high molecular weight polymers. The mono‐unsaturation in the starting material, methyl oleate, was first epoxidized using a peroxy acid. This intermediate material was further modified using acrylic acid. The acrylated molecule is able to participate in free‐radical polymerization reactions to form high molecular weight polymers. The rate of polymerization was low because of the long aliphatic structure of the monomer. It is hypothesized that the polymerization reaction occurred in the interface between the particle and water, thereby slowing down the reaction. After 18 h of reaction, a monomer conversion of approximately 91% was achieved. A maximum weight‐average molecular weight of approximately 10⁶ g/mol was observed after 14 h of reaction. At early reaction times linear polymers were formed. However, as the reaction time increased, the amount of branching that occurred on the polymer molecule increased, as indicated by gel permeation chromatography and light scattering. This has been attributed to chain transfer to polymer via hydrogen abstraction from a tertiary backbone C–H bond. The resulting polymer may be of considerable interest for pressure‐sensitive adhesive applications. © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 40: 451–458, 2002; DOI 10.1002/pola.10130     

Copolymerization in N-vinylcaprolactam-N-vinylpyrrolidone and N,N-diethylacrylamide-N,N-dimethylacrylamide systems: The effect of composition and spatial structure of copolymers on their thermal sensitivity

Factors that affect the temperature-responsive properties of water-soluble polymers were revealed by studying the copolymerization of two pairs of monomers: N-vinylcaprolactam-N-vinylpyrrolidone and N,N-diethylacrylamide-N,N-dimethylacrylamide. In each pair, the first monomer forms a temperature-responsive polymer and the second gives a polymer soluble in water up to the boiling point. It was found that in all cases, the addition of the second (more hydrophilic) monomer resulted in a monotonous increase in the phase separation temperature in an aqueous copolymer solution, with the temperature rise being comparatively slow in the initial stage and sharply accelerating after the addition of more than 40–50 mol % second monomer. The phase-separation temperature versus copolymer composition curves for N,N-diethylacrylamide-N,N-dimethylacrylamide copolymers of iso-and heterotactic structure synthesized via anionic polymerization are rather similar. At the same time, the copolymers of both types prepared via radical polymerization are characterized by steeper curves, a pattern that may be due to a high content of the syndiotactic structure, however, changes in the copolymer spatial structure have a lesser effect on the phase separation temperature than the presence of units of a more hydrophilic monomer. The addition of a relatively low amount (20–25 mol %) of a less hydrophilic monomer imparts temperature sensitivity to polymers, such as polyvinylpyrrolidone or polydimethylacrylamide, which do not possess this property in the pure form.     

Polymerization of oriented monomers. V. Radiation-induced polymerization of 3n-dodecyl-1-vinylimidazolium iodide in micellar aggregates

In the present study radiation-induced polymerization of 3n-dodecyl-1-vinylimidazolium iodide (I) in micellar aggregates was investigated. For comparison, the corresponding isotropic polymerization of I was also studied. Micellization was obtained in concentrated aqueous solutions; that is, above the monomer's critical micelle concentration (CMC) polymers obtained by both modes of polymerization were treated similarly and subsequently subjected to physical characterization. The main purpose of this study was to investigate whether the degree of organization of the monomer in micelles would affect polymer properties. Attempts to determine tacticity by ¹³C-NMR spectrometry failed because of the particular structure of the polymer. Crystallization of these polymers from ethyl alcohol or acetone was not possible as indicated by x-ray powder diffraction patterns that were characteristic of amorphous polymers. On the other hand, viscosity data of polymers do not depend on the mode of polymerization. It is therefore concluded that micellar aggregates are not sufficiently organized to affect polymer properties.     

Reactivities of carboxylic acid vinyl monomers differentiated by the aggregation forms and their simple molecular orbital interpretation

Plasma-exposed solution polymerizations of carboxylic acid vinyl monomers [methacrylic acid (MAA) and acrylic acid (AA)] in carbonyl solvents were found to be highly efficient, particularly in high-temperature postpolymerizations. Thermal polymerizations in these solvents were also accelerated to a considerable extent. Obviously the carbonyl solvents and/or the increased temperature caused the monomer aggregates to accelerate the rate of polymerization. The molecular orbital features of the simple models of monomer aggregates, that is, the monomeric form, singly hydrogen bonded open-dimer and doubly hydrogen bonded cyclicdimer of MAA and AA, supported by the CNDO/2 method, were capable of distinguishing the variations in the reactivities of the aggregates; the open-dimer was shown to be responsible for the enhanced reactivities under the abovementioned conditions.     

Two‐dimensional liquid chromatography with active solvent modulation for studying monomer incorporation in copolymer dispersants

A pseudo‐comprehensive two‐dimensional liquid chromatography approach with size exclusion chromatography in the first dimension and gradient reversed‐phase liquid chromatography in the second dimension was successfully developed for the characterization of vinyl acetate/acrylic acid copolymers and vinyl acetate/itaconic acid/acrylic acid terpolymers. Active solvent modulation was exploited to prevent the polymer breakthrough in the second dimension separation caused by the strong solvent used in the first dimension. The conditions of the active solvent modulation valve were optimized to achieve sufficient on‐line dilution and to completely prevent polymer breakthrough without adding excessive time to the modulation cycle. Using this approach, copolymers made with different monomer ratios and processes were studied. Heterogeneous composition distribution due to insufficient monomer incorporation was detected in some of the copolymer samples. We demonstrated that with active solvent modulation, the two‐dimensional liquid chromatography approach is no longer limited to water‐soluble polymers and can be used for a broader range of polymers and copolymers.     

Preparation and characterization of solution processable phthalocyanine‐containing polymers via a combination of RAFT polymerization and post‐polymerization modification techniques

In this work, a benzenedinitrile functionalized monomer, 2‐methyl‐acrylic acid 6‐(3,4‐dicyano‐phenoxy)‐hexyl ester, was successfully polymerized via the reversible addition‐fragmentation chain transfer method. The polymerization behavior conveyed the characteristics of “living”/controlled radical polymerization: the first‐order kinetics, linear increase of number‐average molecular weight with monomer conversion, narrow molecular weight distribution, and successful chain‐extension experiment. The soluble Zn(II) phthalocyanine (Pc)‐containing (ZnPc) polymers were achieved by post‐polymerization modification of the obtained polymers. The Zn(II) phthalocyanine‐functionalized polymer was characterized by FTIR, UV–vis, fluorescence, atomic absorption spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis. The potential application of above ZnPc‐functionalized polymer as electron donor material in bulk heterojunction organic solar cell was studied. The device with ITO/PEDOT:PSS/ZnPc‐Polymer/PC₆₁BM/LiF/Al structure provided a power conversion efficiency of 0.014%, fill factor of 0.24, open circuit voltage (V_oc) of 0.21 V, and short‐circuit current (J_sc) of 0.28 mA/cm². © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2014 , 52, 691–698     

MAA存在下VAc/BA核壳乳液聚合过程中的胶粒形态研究

用ＴＥＭ和电位滴定法对不同配方和工艺条件得到的胶粒形态结构和羧基分别进行了表征。结果表明：加入甲基丙烯酸有利于胶粒的稳定和形成规则的核壳胶粒。半连续加料不会形成完全反转的核壳结构,但是,核层在反应过程中由于聚合物簇的迁移会造成形变。由于胶粒中聚合物浓度高,粘度大,因而胶粒形态变化受动力学影响甚大,羧基分布主要是由动力学确定的。     

The preparation of poly(N-acetyl-α-amino acrylic acid) [poly(N-acetyl dehydroalanine)] and poly(α-amino acrylic acid) (polydehydroalanine)

Poly(N-acetyl-α-amino acrylic acid) was prepared by a free radical polymerization reaction. Mild alkaline hydrolysis of the polymer product yielded a second polymer poly(α-amino acrylic acid) (polydehydroalanine). Both polymers exhibited certain polyelectrolyte behavior, although the latter did not behave as expected for an amphoteric polyelectrolyte.     

Photopolymerization of poly(ethylene glycol) dimethacrylates: The influence of ionic liquids on the formulation and the properties of the resultant polymer materials

The photo‐initiated polymerization of poly(ethylene glycol)dimethacrylates [PEGDM(n)] in the presence of various ionic liquids (ILs) is reported. The influence of ILs concentrations as well as of their nature upon the photopolymerization kinetics was studied in detail. It was found that according to reactive ability in bulk and in solution photopolymerization, the investigated monomers can be divided into two groups: PEGDM(1)–PEGDM(2)–PEGDM(3) and PEGDM(4)–PEGDM(7‐8). ILs slightly influence the photopolymerization of monomers from the first group and greatly change kinetics of those from the second. Such behavior was explained by the theory of “kinetically favorable or unfavorable monomer associations.” It was demonstrated that certain ILs accelerate the photopolymerization of the highest PEGDMs and offer access to the polymers derived from low reactive monomers. Relying on the obtained data, the attempt to predict the structure of the “best” ionic additive for the given monomer photopolymerization was performed and proved. Finally, the influence of both residual and specially added ILs quantities upon the properties of obtained polymer materials was investigated. It was revealed that ILs can physically interact with polymer networks increasing their thermal stability, plasticizing films, and blocks, imparting ionic conductivity equal up to 3.62 × 10^?3 Sm/cm at 25 °C. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 48: 2388–2409, 2010     

Synthesis of Stimuli-responsive Nanoparticles by Solution Polymerization

In this study, stimuli-responsive nanoparticles were prepared by solution polymerization. Two synthesis routes are proposed to synthesize the particles, the monomer route and the polymer/monomer route. For the monomer route, pH and thermal sensitive nanoparticles were synthesized from acrylic acid and N-isopropylacrylamide. For the polymer/monomer route, the pH sensitive nanoparticles were synthesized from chitosan and acrylic acid. The effect of reaction time, initiator concentration and agitation rate on the particle size and the size distribution were investigated. The stimuli-responsive nanoparticles could be directly blended with other polymers to prepare stimuli-responsive functional membranes.     

Polymerisation radiochimique de l''acide methacrylique en solution

The polymerization of methacrylic acid was investigated in various solvents under the action of gamma-rays. It was found that, as in the case of acrylic acid, solvents could be divided into groups according to the observed effects. The addition of methanol or dioxane up to 50 per cent does not significantly alter the polymerization rate. These two solvents do not dissociate the plurimolecular aggregates of methacrylic acid, the presence of which is demonstrated by the high viscosity of the medium. In the presence of either toluene or n-hexane, the rate gradually decreases and the aggregates are dissociated. Chloroform and CCl₄ also dissociate the aggregates but lead to acceleration of the reaction. This effect which was not observed with acrylic acid presumably results from an energy transfer process. The polymerization of methacrylic acid in bulk and in solution has a very small overall activation energy, 1·0–1·5 kcal/mole between 16 and 60°. All conversion curves are linear in contrast to the case of acrylic acid where auto-accelerated conversion curves were observed in most mixtures. A comparison of these results shows that the initial rates of polymerization of acrylic acid follow relationships similar to those observed for methacrylic acid except for the chlorinated solvents. It is concluded that the molecular aggregates produce the same influence on the polymerization of methacrylic acid as on the initial stages of the reaction for acrylic acid, but the “matrix effect” of poly(acrylic acid) does not appear in the case of poly(methacrylic acid).     

Cross‐linking photopolymerization of monoacrylate initiated by benzophenone

The chain‐end structure of the photopolymerized acrylate using benzophenone as an initiator was investigated as well as polymerization behavior. Dodecyl acrylate was used as a monomer in this study. Gelation occurred during ultraviolet (UV) irradiation, whereas a cross‐linker was not employed. Conversion‐time profile below gel point gave a linear first‐order plot suggesting that the steady‐state was held throughout polymerization. Matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization time‐of‐flight mass spectra of the resultant polymer indicated that most polymers had an acryloyl group at one of the chain‐ends, while some polymers had an acryloyl group at each chain‐end. The cross‐linking reaction leading to gelation would have been caused by the subsequent copolymerization of the residual monomer with the latter polymer having two acryloyl groups. Dissolved oxygen in the monomer solution influenced the polymer structure giving hydroxyl group at chain‐end. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2018 , 56, 1545–1553     

Polymerisation de l'acide methacrylique en masse et en solution

In spite of the fact that the bulk polymerization of methacrylic acid proceeds under precipitating conditions, all conversion curves are linear and start from the origin. The overall activation energy of the gamma ray initiated reaction is very small: 1.3 kcal/mol. Methanol and water are solvents for the polymer but also form monomer-solvent complexes through H-bonds. It was found that, over a limited concentration range in these solvents, the reaction becomes auto-accelerating both in precipitating and homogeneous reaction media. Non-polar solvents (hydrocarbons) lead to a significant reduction in the polymerization rate but this effect is not as pronounced as for acrylic acid. Chlorinated derivatives reduce the polymerization rate of acrylic acid to the same extent as hydrocarbons but, for methacrylic acid, chlorinated derivatives lead to sensitization. By analogy with earlier results for acrylic acid, it is assumed that the auto-acceleration observed in water and methanol solutions is caused by a “matrix effect”. In bulk, the monomer undoubtly also associates with the polymer but, in view of the bulky methyl groups, the regularly oriented structure which favours propagation presumably never arises. The very small activation energy of the polymerization suggests that chain termination requires a significant activation energy. The mechanism of this process is not clear.     

Polymerisation purement thermique de l'acide acrylique en masse et en solution

The thermal polymerization of acrylic acid in bulk is faster than that of styrene. The conversion curves exhibit auto-acceleration and the product contains a significant fraction of syndiotactic polymer. The overall activation energy is 14 kcal/mol. The rate of the thermal polymerization decreases sharply when the monomer is diluted with toluene. In 50% monomer solutions, the conversion curves are linear and the overall activation energy is 29.8 kcal/mol. With 75 and 90% monomer solutions, the Arrhenius diagrams showed breaks caused by a change in the type of auto-association of the monomer. A comparison of these results with earlier findings obtained in the radiation polymerization of acrylic acid makes it possible to estimate the activation energies of the thermal initiation. It is found that E_i is 14.1 kcal/mol in systems where the monomer forms linear oligomeric association complexes and 34.4 kcal/mol if only cyclic dimers are present in the system.     

Organosoluble star polymers from a cyclodextrin core

Well‐defined star polymers were synthesized with a combination of the core‐first method and atom transfer radical polymerization. The control of the architecture of the macroinitiator based on β‐cyclodextrin bearing functional bromide groups was determined by ¹³C NMR, fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry, and elemental analysis. In a second step, the polymerization of the tert‐butyl acrylate monomer was optimized to avoid a star–star coupling reaction and allowed the synthesis of a well‐defined organosoluble polymer star. The determination of the macromolecular dimensions of these new star polymers by size exclusion chromatography/light scattering was in agreement with the structure of armed star polymers in a large range of predicted molecular weights. This article describes a new approach to polyelectrolyte star polymers by postmodification of poly(tert‐butyl acrylate) by acrylic arm hydrolysis in a water‐soluble system. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 43: 5186–5194, 2005     

Polymerization of cyclopentadiene initiated by methylaluminoxane

The polymerization of cyclopentadiene (CPD) was effectively initiated by methylaluminoxane (MAO) to generate poly(cyclopentadiene) (polyCPD). The effects on the polymerization of some reaction parameters such as the monomer concentration, the initiator concentration, and solvents were investigated. The conversion of CPD was monitored with gas chromatography to investigate the reaction kinetics. The polymerization rate was proportional to the concentrations of MAO in the first order and of the CPD monomer in the second order, and a reasonable cationic polymerization mechanism was suggested on the basis of the kinetic study. PolyCPD obtained at a low temperature could be dissolved in toluene or chloroform, and this indicated lower cross‐coupling during the polymerization reaction. ¹H NMR and IR analysis of the polymer indicated that there were almost equal amounts of 1,2‐enchainment and 1,4‐enchainment in the polymer chain. The measurement of polyCPD showed its unique properties as a potential candidate for stable wrappings or electronic packaging materials. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 264–272, 2006     

Semi-interpenetrating polymer networks synthesis by photocrosslinking of acrylic monomers in a polymer matrix

Semi-interpenetrating polymer networks have been obtained by UV-radiation curing of acrylate monomers dispersed in a polymer matrix, using an arylketone as photoinitiator. The polymerization kinetics was studied quantitatively by infrared spectroscopy for the various polymers examined: polyurethane, poly(vinyl chloride), poly(methyl methacrylate). The fastest reaction occurs in PVC films, where UV-curing develops extensively within a fraction of a second, leading to an insoluble and highly resistant material. The functionality of the acrylic monomer has a strong influence on the formulation reactivity, as well as on the mechanical and chemical properties of the final product. In PMMA, the polymerization was shown to continue to proceed efficiently for a few seconds after the UV exposure, even in the presence of air, due to both the high concentration of initiating radicals generated by the intense irradiation and the slow termination processes in solid media. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.