Calorimetric study of cross-linking polymerization of methyl methacrylate in the presence of a multimonomer

The kinetics of free-radical cross-linking polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MM) in the presence of poly[2-(10-undecenoyloxy)ethyl methacrylate] (PUDEM) as a macromolecular cross-linker has been isothermally examined within the temperature range from 85–100°C using the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The activation energy found for this reaction, E_a=89.3 kJ mol^–1, exceeds slightly the literature values of activation energy obtained for the mass polymerization of MM without any cross-linking agent. The activation energy has been also determined by the isoconversion method. It has been found that E_a decreases with the increase in the conversion, which may indicate a change in the reaction mechanism.This work was partly supported by the Committee for Research (KBN) in the framework of project No. 7 T08E 026 20