ON THE KINETICS AND MECHANISM OF THE COPOLYMERIZATION OF ACRYLONITRILE WITH STYRENE IN THE PRESENCE OF COPPER CHLORIDE

 The copolymerization of styrene (St) and acrylonitrile (AN) complexed with CuCl₂ monomer by a free radicalmechanism was performed using benzoyl peroxide as an initiator at 65℃ under N₂ atmosphere for 150 min. The rate ofpolymerization (R_p) was found to increase linearly with the concentration (in mol/L) of CuCl₂, AN and St through scalingrelations. The activation energy of the copolymerization process in the presence and absence of CuCl₂ was found to be 46.5 kJ/mol and 102 kJ/mol,respectively.The viscosity average molecular weight of the copolymer and the k_p²/k_t ratio were determired to further assess the accelerating effect of CuCl₂ on the copolymerization process.The copolymerization process in the presence of CuCl₂ has a radical complex mechanism.