Vinyl polymerization. 361. Polymerization of 2,2,4-trimethyl-3-on-1-pentyl methacrylate

2,2,4-Trimethyl-3-on-1-pentyl methacrylate (TMPM) was first synthesized from the condensation reaction of 2,2,4-trimethyl-1-pentanol-3-on with methacrylic acid. Second, the polymerization of TMPM and the copolymerization of TMPM with styrene (St) were carried out in benzene at 60°C, using 2,2′-azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) as an initiator. As the result of kinetic investigation, the rate of polymerization (R_p) could be expressed by: R_p = kAIBN]^0.5 TMPM]^1.0. Kinetic constants of polymerization of TMPM were obtained as follows: k_p/k = 0.27 dm^3/2 mole^?1/2 sec^?1/2, 2fk_d = 1.23 × 10^?5 sec^?1, f = 0.73, C_m = 2.6 × 10^?5, C_s = 1.1 × 10^?5. From the results the reactivity of TMPM was found to be larger than that of methyl methacrylate. The overall activation energy was calculated to be 110 kJ mole^?1. The following monomer reactivity ratios and Q, e values were obtained: TMPM(M₁) ? St(M₂): r₁ = 1.50, r₂ = 0.14, Q₁ = 2.63, E₁ = 0.45.