Polymerization and processability of poly(vinyl chloride),

The processability of rigid poly(vinyl chloride) can be improved by adding trichloroethylene as chain-transfer agent, increasing the polymerization temperature, and especially by combining the two effects together. The resulting synergistic interaction is best expressed by an equation of the form, P = (A + B[TCE])e^C/T, where P is thermal plasticity, Ae^C/T is the combined effect of chain transfer to initiator and monomer and termination through combination and disproportionation, and B[TCE]e^C/T represents the chain-transfer action of trichloroethylene.