Dispersion polymerization of styrene in ethanol: Monomer partitioning behavior and locus of polymerization

A thermodynamic model has been proposed for the simulation of monomer partitioning behavior in the dispersion polymerization of styrene in ethanol. The monomer concentration in the polymer particles is very low (20 vol% at 5% conversion) and decreases further as the polymerization proceeds. It is independent of stabilizer concentration but is strongly dependent on initial monomer concentration. The partitio n coefficient ([M_p]/[M_c]) of styrene increases from 0.8 to 1.1 with incresing conversion. There are two polymerization loci in dispersion polymerization, namely the continuous and polymer phases. Competition between solution and heterogeneous polymerization has been observed in this system. The rate of dispersion polymerization is dependent on initial monomer concentration but is independent of initiator concentration at higher conversions. The molecular weight of the polymers produced by this process increases with increasing conversion and decreases with increasing initiator concentration.     

Free-radical polymerization of phenylacetylene

The free-radical polymerization of phenylacetylene initiated by azobisisobutyronitrile at 50°C was studied in bulk and in the presence of benzene and toluene. The polymerization rate is approximately first-order with respect to the initiator concentration. The number-average molecular weight of the polymer is independent of the initiator concentration in bulk and is approximately proportional to the monomer concentration in the presence of the two diluents, but independent of their nature. The data are consistent with a mechanism based on first-order decay of active to inactive radicals. This step appears to exert the major control over kinetic and molecular chain lengths. Chain transfer to the monomer is concluded to be absent or to make only a small contribution to molecular termination.     

Stereospecific polymerization of methacrylonitrile. VI. Effect of esters as a complexing agent with diethylmagnesium catalyst

The stereospecific polymerizations of methacrylonitrile with diethylmagnesium were carefully studied by using various ethers as complexing agents. The complexed ethers exhibit a beneficial effect on the stereoregularity of the resulting polymer, namely, the crystallinity increased by using ethers as a complexing agent. The polymerization rate and the molecular weight of the polymer also increased by using ether-complexed catalysts. The polymerization behavior was studied with the dioxane–diethylmagnesium complex as a typical complexed catalyst. The behavior was mostly similar to that of the diethymagnesium alone, that is, the rate of the polymerization increased in proportion to monomer concentration, and the solubility index increased with increasing monomer concentration. Interestingly, the viscosity of the acetone-insoluble fraction increased with increasing monomer concentration, while that of the acetone-soluble fraction was independent of monomer concentration. This is explained by considering that the catalyst has at least two kinds of catalytic species, one being the species that produces the crystalline polymer by a coordinated anionic polymerization, another being the one from which an amorphous polymer is obtained by a conventional anionic mechanism. The fact that the viscosity of the polymer decreased with increasing the initiator concentration is explained in terms of chain trasfer to the initiator. In case of diethylmagnesium alone, the viscosity of the polymer is independent of the initiator concentration.     

Anionic Polymerization of Methyl Methacrylate in the Presence of Piperidine

Anionic polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) initiated by lithium tert-butoxide (t-BuOLi) was investigated in different mixtures of benzene and piperidine. The latter compound activates the associated alkoxide, as evidenced by the observed increase in the rate of polymerization, proportional to piperidine concentration and also by the lowering of the overall kinetic order of the polymerization reaction with respect to initial monomer concentration. However, at higher piperidine concentration the rate of the polymer growth significantly decreases after a short period of time; a probable reason for this retardation or termination effect is the decay of active growth centers by a termination reaction with the methacrylate carbonyl group. The molecular weight of the polymer is significantly lowered by even a small addition of piperidine as a result of increased initiator efficiency that leads to a higher absolute concentration of active centers and approaches the theoretical limit given by the stoichiometric ratio of monomer and initiator concentrations. The microstructure of the product is affected by the presence of the polar solvent to a considerably lesser degree than in the case of classical alkylmetal initiators. The isotacticity slowly decreases with piperidine concentration over the whole investigated range. The high stability of the complex active center of growth formed by the alkoxide initiator and also the gradual change in the character of the ionic pair at the end of the growing polymer chain are responsible for the relatively small changes of the microstructure.     

Polymerization of diethylene glycol bis(allyl carbonate) by means of di-sec-butyl peroxydicarbonate

The initial stages of the free radical polymerization of diethylene glycol bis(allyl carbonate) at temperatures of 35–65°C have been studied. The polymer is unsaturated and cyclization to give a 16-membered ring occurs only to a small extent. The kinetic order with respect to the initiator, di-sec-butyl peroxydicarbonate, has an average value of 0.79; the order increases slightly with peroxydicarbonate concentration over the range 0.018–0.22M. The molecular weight of the polymer isolated after 3% polymerization is close to 19,000. It shows no significant dependence on initiator concentration or on temperature. The dominant feature of the bulk polymerization, as in free radical polymerization of the other allyl and diallyl monomers, is degradative chain transfer in which the growing polymer radical abstracts a hydrogen atom from a monomer unit to give a relatively unreactive allylic radical. The dependence of rate on initiator concentration is rationalized if some of these allylic radicals are able to reinitiate polymerization. The transfer constant to monomer is 0.014 at 50°C, assuming that the main termination step involves mutual termination of allylic radicals. Carbon tetrachloride is an active transfer agent with a transfer constant of 0.20 ± 0.04 at 50°C. Toluene, which is less active, has a transfer constant of 0.0064 at 50°C and also retards the polymerization. Some kinetic studies have been made with other initiators, including di-2-methyl-pentanoyl peroxide which initiates polymerization at temperatures as low as 13°C.     

双官能度引发剂引发苯乙烯聚合微观动力学

采用 2 ,5 二甲基 2 ,5 二己酰基过氧化己烷 (DMDEHPH)为引发剂 ,在 5 5～ 80℃下引发苯乙烯聚合 .通过研究影响聚合速率的各种因素 ,得出了聚合速率对单体浓度和引发剂浓度的级数分别为 1 0和 0 5次、聚合活化能为 92 0kJ mol、引发效率为 0 5 5± 0 0 3.温度一定 ,引发效率随引发剂浓度的增加而减小 .求得 6 0和70℃下DMDEHPH向引发剂的链转移常数分别为 0 0 37和 0 0 4 8、向单体的链转移常数分别为 0 5 9× 10 - 4和0 75× 10 - 4.     

Anionic polymerization of 2,2,5,5-tetramethyl-1-oxa-2,5-disilacyclopentane

In the first of a two-part series, a study has been made of the anionic polymerization of a five-membered cyclocarbosiloxane, 2,2,5,5-tetramethyl-1-oxa-2,5-disilacyclopentane. The polymerization was initiated by lithium n-butyldiphenylsilanolate in the presence of tetrahydrofuran. The chemical shifts of the protons of the cyclic monomer and the polymer were found to be different, and therefore the rate of polymerization was obtained in an NMR spectrometer. The effects of varying the concentrations of THF, initiator, and water upon the rate of polymerization and upon the molecular weight and the molecular weight distribution were investigated. At a constant concentration of monomer and initiator, the rate of polymerization increased when the THF concentration was increased. At a constant concentration of monomer and THF the rate of polymerization reached a constant value when the initiator concentration was varied. The molecular weight and the molecular weight distribution were dependent upon the initiator to water ratio, whereas water concentration had little effect on the rate of polymerization. Essentially monodispersed polymers were obtained when the concentration of initiator was in large excess to that of water or vice versa. A bimodal distribution in molecular weight was obtained when the concentration of initiator was approximately equal to that of water. The apparent activation energy of polymerization was 12.7 kcal/mole.     

Radical polymerization of vinyl acetate with primary radical termination

Vinyl acetate was polymerized at high initiation rate with 2,2′-azobis(2,4-dimethyl valeronitrile) as initiator at 50°C. In this polymerization, the power dependence of polymerization rate on the initiation rate is smaller than at lower concentration of monomer. This dependence was kinetically analyzed at each given concentration of monomer. Average degree of polymerization of polymer formed depends on the concentration of initiator. This dependence was explained by considering chain and primary radical terminations and transfer to monomer of polymer radical, and the initiator efficiency (=0.503) was deduced. It was found that the chain termination is inversely proportional to solvent viscosity, but the primary radical termination is not inversely proportional to solvent viscosity. Further, the value of the primary radical termination rate constant (=1.4 × 10⁹l./mole-sec) was estimated.     

Polymerization of 1,P-Epoxides Initiated by Tetraalkyl Aluminates. I. Polymerization of Ethylene Oxide in the Presence of Sodium Tetrabutyl Aluminate

The polymerization of ethylene oxide (EO) initiated by NaA1Bu₄ is shown to proceed upon initial complex formation between monomer and initiator. In polymerization in toluene a high order of the kinetic equation with respect to initiator was found, indicating that chain propagation proceeds on dimers and trimers of the active center. An induction time of polymerization in THF is observed. It is necessary to reach a specific concentration of the NaAIBu₄.EO complexes which take part in the polymerization process. The wide molecular weight distribution, the high effectivity coefficient (initiation efficiency), and the polymerization rate increase with polymer yield are evidence of a polycentric polymerization mechanism.     

Kinetics and mechanisms of emulsion polymerization of vinylidene chloride. I. Effects of operating variables on the rate of polymerization and the number of polymer particles produced

Emulsion polymerization of vinylidene chloride was carried out at 50°C using sodium lauryl sulfate as emulsifier and potassium persulfate as initiator, respectively. Contrary to the results so far reported, the stirring rate did not affect the progress of the polymerization and such an abnormal kinetic behavior as the rate of polymerization suddenly drops in the course of polymerization was not observed. The number of polymer particles produced was proportional to the 0.7 power of the concentration of emulsifier forming micelles and to the 0.3 power of the initial initiator concentration, respectively, and was independent of the initial monomer concentration. The rate of polymerization was in proportion to the 0.3 power of the concentration of emulsifier forming micelles, to the 0.5 power of the initial initiator concentration, to the 0.2 power of the initial monomer concentration, and to the 0.45 power of the number of polymer particles, respectively. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 36: 1919–1928, 1998     

Use of block copolymer surfactants in the inverse-suspension polymerization of acrylamide

A comprehensive experimental investigation of the inverse microsuspension polymerization of acrylamide using an oil-soluble initiator and a block copolymeric surfactant whose hydrophobic miety is poly(12-hydroxystearic acid) and whose hydrophilic moeity is polyethylene oxide was carried out. It was found that the initial polymerization rate was first order with respect to molar monomer concentration, first order with respect to molar initiator concentration and zeroth order with respect to molar emulsifier concentration. Based on these experimental findings, a mechanism was proposed which includes initiation, propagation transfer to monomer and termination. It also includes transfer to impurities which are believed to be found in the surfactant. The kinetic model developed from the proposed mechanism is found to be in good agreement with the experimental conversion and weight-average molecular weight data. Comparing with sorbitan esters of fatty acids, the copolymeric surfactant provides higher polymerization rate and very high and linear molecular weight comparable to those obtained by solution polymerization.     

Ring-opening polymerization of ε-caprolactone using rare earth tris(4-tert-butylphenolate)s as a single component initiator

Ring-opening polymerization of ε-caprolactone has been carried out by using single component rare earth tris(4-tert-butylphenolate)s initiators for the first time. The influences of rare earth element, solvent, monomer and initiator concentration as well as reaction time on the polymerization were investigated. The kinetics indicated that the polymerization rate is first-order with respect to monomer concentration and initiator concentration, respectively. The overall activation energy of the ring-opening polymerization amounts to 51.9 kJ/mol. Mechanism studies showed that monomer inserted into the growing chains with the acyl-oxygen bond scission rather than the break of alkyl-oxygen bond.     

Frontal copolymerization synthesis and property characterization of starch-graft-poly(acrylic acid) hydrogels

Recently, a considerable amount of research has centered on uniquely structured polymers synthesized through self-propagating frontal polymerization. The obtained polymer materials have better features than those obtained by using the classical batch route. The additional advantages are short reaction times and low cost. This work describes the first frontal polymerization synthesis of a graft copolymer superabsorbent hydrogel of acrylic acid onto starch at high monomer and initiator concentration. The effects of varying the relative amounts of the reaction components on the most relevant parameters relating to frontal polymerization were explored. The front velocity dependence on initiator concentration could be fit to a power function. The temperature profiles were found to be very sharp with a maximum temperature below 150 degrees C, which was responsible for high monomer conversion. The ultimate properties of the product appear to depend on the polymerization front velocity and the temperature. The high-temperature and rapid temperature increase at the polymerization front led to products with interconnected porous structures caused by the evaporation of water. So, a fast-swelling, highly absorbing hydrogel with respect to batch polymerization was obtained.     

Emulsion polymerization of vinyl acetate. II

The emulsion polymerization of vinyl acetate was investigated at low ionic strengths and has quite unusual kinetics. The rate of polymerization is dependent on the initiator concentration to the first power and independent of soap concentration. In seeded polymerizations, the rate of polymerization depends on initiator to the 0.8 power, particle concentration to the 0.2 power, and monomer volume to 0.35 power. In all cases the rate of polymerization is almost independent of monomer concentration in the particles until 85–90% conversion. These results were rationalized by the following mechanism: (a) polymerization initiates in the aqueous phase because of the solubility of the monomer and is stabilized there by adsorption of ionic soap on the growing polymer molecule; (b) the growing polymer is swept up by a particle at a degree of polymerization (under our conditions) of about 50–200. Growth continues in the particle. This sweep-up is activation-controlled as both particle and polymer are charged. (c) Chain transfer to the acetyl group of monomer gives a new small radical which cyclizes to the water-soluble butyrolactonyl radical, and reinitiates polymerization in the aqueous phase; (d) the main termination step is reaction of an uncharged butyrolactonyl radical with a growing aqueous polymer radical. A secondary reaction at low ionic strength is sweep-up of an aqueous radical by a particle containing a radical. At high ionic strength, this is the major termination step. The unusual kinetic steps are justified by data from the literature. They are combined with the usual mechanisms operating for vinyl acetate polymerization and kinetic equations are derived and integrated. The integral equations were compared with the experimental data and shown to match it almost completely over the whole range of experimental variables.     

Preparation and characterization of poly (N-isopropylacrylamide-co-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate) microgel latexes

Monodisperse cationic thermosensitive latex microgels have been prepared by radical-initiated precipitation polymerization of N-isopropylacrylamide, methylene bisacrylamide using 2,2′-azobis(2-amidinopropane hydrochloride) as an initiator and dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate (DMAEMA) as a cationic monomer. The final microgel latexes were characterized with respect to water-soluble polymer formation, particle size and size distribution. Adding cationic monomer (DMAEMA) was found to drastically affect the particle size, but not the size distribution as observed both by transmission electron microscopy and quasielastic light scattering (QELS). However, too high a DMAEMA concentration in the feed composition led to enhanced formation of water-soluble polymer. The volume phase-transition temperature of cleaned microgels examined by QELS (particle size versus temperature) was found to be around 32 °C and was slightly dependent on the concentration of the cationic monomer. The volume phase-transition temperature range becomes broader with increasing cationic monomer concentration. In addition, the pH of the polymerization medium was found to affect the final particle size and amount of water-soluble polymer formed. Received: 29 March 2001 Accepted: 2 July 2001     

Condensative chain polymerization. II. Preferential esterification of propagating end group in Pd-catalyzed CO-insertion polycondensation of 4-bromophenol derivatives

For a development of condensative chain polymerization where polycondensation proceeds from an initiator in a chain polymerization manner to yield polymer with a defined molecular weight and a narrow molecular weight distribution, the Pd-catalyzed polycondensation of 4-bromophenol derivatives with CO is studied. Model reactions showed that monomer reacted the polymer terminal Br preferentially compared to the monomer Br, but that the ester exchange reaction of polymer backbone with monomer phenoxide occurred in some extent. In the polymerization of 4-bromo-2-n-octylphenol with CO using 4-bromo-2,6-dimethylphenyl benzoate as an initiator, the molecular weight of polymer increased in proportion to time up to 30 min. The GPC elution curves showed that oligomers were produced from the initiator. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 37: 2607–2618, 1999     

二茂钛/锡/环氧化合物引发苯乙烯活性自由基聚合的研究

采用单茂钛CpTiCl3和二茂钛金属化合物(n-BuCp)2TiCl2,引发剂4-甲氧苯基缩水甘油基醚(I1),1,4-丁二醇二缩水甘油基醚(I2),4,4′-亚甲基二(N,N-二缩水甘油基苯胺)(I4)和苯基缩水甘油基醚甲醛共聚物(I5)及还原剂Sn组成引发体系,引发苯乙烯活性自由基聚合,合成线型和多臂聚合物.探讨了不同茂钛金属化合物、引发剂和还原剂对苯乙烯聚合的影响;并采用13C-NMR和GPC对聚苯乙烯的结构和性能进行了表征.结果表明所得聚合物是无规聚苯乙烯,聚合物分子量高,分子量分布窄.聚合行为属于活性自由基聚合.     

Radical polymerization of styrene initiated by styrene–arsenic sulfide complex

Styrene forms a complex with arsenic sulfide which in DMF at 85°C initiates radical polymerization yielding high molecular weight polymer. The order of reaction, with respect to initiator and monomer, is 0.5 ± 0.02 and unity, respectively. The energy of activation for the system computed as 96 kJ mol^?1 and the polymerization is retarded by hydroquinone. A possible mechanism for reaction has also been proposed.     

Microemulsion Polymerization: An Undergraduate Experiment in the Synthesis of Nanosized Polystyrene Particles

The synthesis of polystyrene nanoparticles through microemulsion polymerization is presented as an undergraduate advanced organic laboratory exercise. The resultant polymers molecular weight and particle size are studied as a function of monomer and initiator concentration. A comparison of cationic vs. anionic surfactants, and their effects on the polymer produced through microemulsion polymerization are also investigated. A direct relationship is observed between molecular weight and monomer concentration. A direct relationship is also found for the particle size of the latex produced. An inverse relationship is observed for molecular weight and particle size as the initiator concentration was raised. Comparison of molecular weight and latex size for cationic and anionic surfactants demonstrates that the anionic surfactant produces both a higher molecular weight and a larger latex size over the entire monomer and initiator concentration ranges.     

Ring‐opening polymerization of L‐lactide by rare‐earth tris(4‐tert‐butylphenolate) single‐component initiators

The ring‐opening polymerization of L ‐lactide initiated by single‐component rare‐earth tris(4‐tert‐butylphenolate)s was conducted. The influences of the rare‐earth elements, solvents, temperature, monomer and initiator concentrations, and reaction time on the polymerization were investigated in detail. No racemization was found from 70 to 100 °C under the examined conditions. NMR and differential scanning calorimetry measurements further confirmed that the polymerization occurred without epimerization of the monomer or polymer. A kinetic study indicated that the polymerization rate was first‐order with respect to the monomer and initiator concentrations. The overall activation energy of the ring‐opening polymerization was 79.2 kJ mol^?1. ¹H NMR data showed that the L ‐lactide monomer inserted into the growing chains with acyl–oxygen bond cleavage. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 6209–6215, 2004