| Abstract: | A statistical model for network formation by the free-radical copolymerization and crosslinking reaction with small crosslinker content is used to obtain expressions for structural averages as a function of reaction parameters. The analysis accounts for reaction features that are characteristic of free-radical mechanisms and can be adapted to include cyclization, various modes of termination, and the gel effect. Profiles for structural averages such as the weight average molecular weight, the sol weight fraction, the molecular weight between crosslinks, and the number of elastically active network chains are obtained as functions of conversion. |
