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

Copolymerization up to high conversions .5. Effect of temperature on the copolymerization of acrylonitrile and alpha-methylstyrene

I. Capek and J. Bartoň

Polymer Institute, Centre for Chemical Research, Slovak Academy of Sciences, CS-842 36 Bratislava

Abstract: The high conversion copolymerizations of acrylonitrile and a-methylstyrene at 50 °C, 90 °C, and 120 °C, respectively, have been studied in bulk. Conver­sion—time curves for the copolymerization of acrylonitrile and  α-methyl­styrene at temperatures 50 °C and 90 °C are linear up to 60 % of conversion (approx.). The gel effect is observed between 60 % and 80 % of conversion (approx.). The variation of copolymer composition with conversion and temperature up to the high conversion was investigated. Differences are observed between the experimentally obtained copolymer composition and those predicted by an integrated form of the Mayo—Lewis copolymer equation above the ceiling temperature for poly(α-methylstyrene). The ceiling temperature for the polymerization of a-methylstyrene is 61 °C and therefore the depropagation effects can be important at polymerization temperatures 90 °C and 120 °C even if the average sequence lengths of a-methylstyrene in the copolymer are supposed to be very short.

Full paper in Portable Document Format: 404a443.pdf

Chemical Papers 40 (4) 443–451 (1986)