ISSN print edition: 0366-6352 ISSN electronic edition: 1336-9075 Registr. No.: MK SR 9/7 Published monthly

Study of radical polymerization in the presence of polymers

J. Bartoň, I. Capek, G. Samcová, and V. Juraničová

Institut für Polymere des Zentrums für Chemische Forschung der Slowakischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 842 36 Bratislava

Abstract:  Influence of the added polymer on kinetics of the radical polymerization of unsaturated monomer has been studied in the present paper. It was found that the decrease of the rate of polymerization of methyl methacrylate in the presence of poly(methyl methacrylate) (M_v = 61 000 g mol^-1) can be elimina­ted by the admixture of the suitable solvent (benzene, cyclohexanone, acetonitrile). The negative kinetic effect of the added polymer in the polymerizing system can be regulated even in case when it was a component of the initiation system of polymerization. The admixture of the copolymer of styrene with maleic anhydride (SMAn) in the presence of N,N-dimethylaniline (DMA) raises the rate of photoinitiated polymerization of styrene. The rise of the polymerization rate is given by the formation of the radical products in the successive reactions of exciplex formed by DMA with the structural units of maleic anhydride in copolymer SMAn. On the other hand, in case of photoinitiated polymerization of methyl methacrylate in the presence of DMA and copolymer SMAn the decrease of the rate of polymerization of methyl methacrylate occurs at the rise of the concentration of copolymer SMAn in the reaction system. The decrease of the polymerization rate is caused by the competing complexation of DMA with maleate anhydride structural units of copolymer SMAn, lowering the formation of exciplex of methyl methacrylate with DMA which is more effective photoinitiator of polymerization than exciplex DMA with maleic anhydride structural units of SMAn copolymer.

Full paper in Portable Document Format: 364a531.pdf (in German)

Chemical Papers 36 (4) 531–538 (1982)