Postpolymerization effect on molecular weight distribution generated by pulsed laser radical polymerization

The postpolymerization effect on molecular weight distribution (MWDs) and on the Pulsed Laser Polymerization (PLP) technique for evaluation of kinetic constants is investigated. General expressions for moments are derived for a polymerization scheme that contains the reactions of chain initiation, propagation, and termination by recombination or disproportionation, under polymerization initiation by an arbitrary sequence of radiation pulses. The results of calculation of MWDs and of the weight-average degree of polymerization (P _w) for methyl methacrylate are presented. It is shown that the P _w value strongly depends on postpolymerization. A new method for determining the rate constants of chain propagation and chain termination from a single experiment by polymerization with packets of laser pulses is presented.