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Polymerization of methacrylic acid and acrylonitrile by p‐nitrobenzyl triphenyl phosphonium ylide
Author(s) -
Vasishtha Rita,
Srivastava A. K.
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
polymer engineering and science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.503
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1548-2634
pISSN - 0032-3888
DOI - 10.1002/pen.760310806
Subject(s) - acrylonitrile , polymerization , polymer chemistry , ylide , radical polymerization , monomer , chain transfer , materials science , methacrylic acid , bulk polymerization , chemistry , photochemistry , polymer , organic chemistry , copolymer
Radical polymerization of methacrylic acid (MAA) and acrylonitrile (AN) in the presence of p‐nitrobenzyl triphenyl phosphonium ylide (p‐NBTPy) in dimethyl sulphoxide at 65 ± 0.1°C under inert atmosphere was investigated by dilatometry. The ylide failed to initiate the polymerization, but significantly accelerated the rate of polymerization. An interesting feature is that the average polymer molecular weight (M̄ v ) is a direct function of [p‐NBTPy]. The radical polymerization of MAA follows ideal kinetics since calculated monomer and initiator (AIBN) exponents are unity and 0.5, respectively. However, the AN system follows non‐ideal kinetics due primarily to radical termination and transfer reactions. The energy of activation, in the presence of p‐NBTPy, is low. The accelerating effect of p‐NBTPy has been attributed to decreased termination because the ylide did not affect the rate of decomposition of AIBN, as well as form a complex with monomer(s).