Polymerization of allyl esters of unsaturated acids. I. Cyclopolymerization of methyl allyl maleate

Radical polymerization of methyl allyl maleate is kinetically discussed in terms of cyclopolymerization using 2,2′-azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) as an initiator and benzene as a solvent at 60°C. The ratios of the rate constants of the unimolecular cyclization reaction to those of the bimolecular propagation reaction of the uncyclized allyl and vinyl radicals, K_A and K_V, are estimated to be 9.7 and 1.35 mole/liter by fitting the kinetic equations obtained here to the dependence of the degree of cyclization on monomer concentration, respectively; the large difference between K_A and K_V is also discussed in detail. On the basis of these results the formation mode and the sequence distribution of the structural units of the polymer produced are discussed in detail; thus, for the polymer obtained in the bulk polymerization, about 90% of the cyclic structures can be formed via the intramolecular attack of uncyclized allyl radical on maleic double bond and the probability of succession of the cyclic structural units in diad sequence is exemplified as 0.27.