Addition polymers vinyl copolymerizations

Nonlinear addition polymers are readily obtained by copolymerizing a divinyl compound (e.g., divinylbenzene) with the vinyl monomer (e.g., styrene), as already mentioned. Products so obtained exhibit the insolubility and other characteristics of space-network structures and are entirely analogous structurally to the space-network polymers produced by the condensation of polyfunctional compounds. Owing to... 

Substituted ethylenes in which substituents occur on both carbon atoms (with the exception of the fluoroethylenes) usually are not prone to polymerize, although some of them, such as the maleates and fumar-ates, copolymerize readily with other monomers. The further fact that, with rare exceptions, the monomers unite through the addition of the substituted carbon atom of one unit to the unsubstituted carbon atom of the next permits representation of nearly all vinyl addition polymers by the general structural formula... 

However, the mechanism of action of filtration control additives is not yet completely understood. Examples are bentonite, latex, various organic polymers, and copolymers. Many additives for fluid loss are water-soluble polymers. Vinyl sulfonate fluid loss additives based on the 2-acrylamido-2-methyl-propane sulfonic acid (AMPS) monomer are in common use in field cementing operations [363]. The copolymerization of AMPS with conjugate monomers yields a fluid loss agent whose properties include minimal retardation, salt tolerance, high efficiency, thermal stability, and excellent solids support. 

The monomers used to make an addition polymer need not be identical. When two or more different monomers are polymerized into the same chain, the product is a copolymer. For instance, we routinely copolymerize ethylene with small percentages of other monomers such as a-olefins (e.g., 1-butene and 1-hexene) and vinyl acetate. We call the products of these reactions linear low density polyethylenes and ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer, respectively. We encounter these copolymers in such diverse applications as cling film, food storage containers, natural gas distribution pipes, and shoe insoles. 

We can incorporate short chain branches into polymers by copolymerizing two or more comonomers. When we apply this method to addition copolymers, the branch is derived from a monomer that contains a terminal vinyl group that can be incorporated into the growing chain. The most common family of this type is the linear low density polyethylenes, which incorporate 1-butene, 1-hexene, or 1-octene to yield ethyl, butyl, or hexyl branches, respectively. Other common examples include ethylene-vinyl acetate and ethylene-acrylic acid copolymers. Figure 5.10 shows examples of these branches. 

A preferred way to enhance the crystalline domain formation of ethylene in the EVA polymer is to delay the addition of vinyl acetate during the polymerization process such that the unreacted vinyl acetate level present in the reactor is minimal at different stages during the process. Thus, the copolymerization can take place in the initial stage, where most of the ethylene will reside in amorphous regions, and the formation of the majority of crystalline ethylene domains can occur in the later stage of the polymerization process. 

The addition copolymerization of norbornene-type monomers with a-olefins [21] forms the basis of EPDM (ethylene propylene diene monomer) technology. Incorporation of smaU amounts of DCPD or ethylidene norbornene (ENB) in olefinic vinyl addition polymers provides latent crosslink sites in EPDM elastomers. It is weU known in the hterature that incorporation of higher amounts of rigid, bulky multicychc olefins results in materials with higher TgS [22]. In fact, more recent work has concentrated on increasing the Tg of norbornene-type monomer/a-olefin copolymers [23]. The use of late transition metal catalysts to prepare such copolymers is reviewed in Section 4.3. 

All vinyl polymers are addition polymers. To differentiate the, the homopolymers have been classified by the substituents attached to one carbon atom of the double bone. If the substituent is hydrogen, alkyl or aryl, the homopolymers are listed under polyolefins. Olefin homopolymers with other substituents are described under polyvinyl compounds, except where the substituent is a nitrile, a carboxylic acid, or a carboxylic acid ester or amide. The monomers in the latter cases being derivatives of acrylic acid, the derived polymers are listed under acrylics. Under olefin copolymers are listed products which are produced by copolymerization of two or more monomers. 

Maleic anhydride grafting (cont.) poly(styrene-co-divinylbenzene), 694 poly(styrene-co-isobutylene), 675, 689 poly(styrene-co-nfialeic anhydride), 676, 679 poly(vinyl acetate), 676, 694 poly(vinyl acetate-co-vinyl fluoride), 678 poly(vinyl alkyl ethers), 675, 679, 692, 701 poly(vinyl chloride), 683, 692, 693, 695, 702 poly(vinylidene chloride), 691 poly(vinyl toluene-co-butadiene), 689 radical—initiated, 459-462, 464-466, 471, 475, 476 radiation—initiated, 459, 461, 466, 471, 474 redox-initiated, 476 rubber, 678, 686, 687, 691, 694 to saturated polymers, 459-466, 475, 476 solvents used 460-463, 465, 466, 469, 474-476 styrene block copolymers, 679 tall oil pitch, 678, 697 terpene polymers, 679, 700 thermally-initiated, 462, 464-467, 469, 476 to unsaturated polymers, 459, 466-474 vapor-phase techniques, 464, 474, 475 to wool fibers, 476 Maleic anhydride monomer acceptor for complex formation, 207-210 acetal copolymerization, 316 acetone CTC thermodynamic constants, 211 acetone photo-adduct pyrolysis, 195, 196 acetylacetone reaction, 235 acetylenic photochemical reactions, 193-196 acrylamide eutectic mixtures, 285 acylation of aromatic acids, 97 acylation of aromatics, 91, 92 acylation of fused aromatics, 92, 95, 97, 98 acylation of olefins, 99 acylation of phenols, 94-96 acylic diene Diels-Alder reactions, 104-111, 139 addition polymer condensations, 503-505 adduct with 2-cyclohexylimino-cyclopentanedi-thiocarboxylic acid, 51 adducts for epoxy resins curing, 507-510 adduct with 2-iminocyclopentanedithiocarboxylic acid, 51... 

All attempts to copolymerize 1 with other vinyl monomers were unsuccessful until Salamone and coworkers obtained a 1,2-addition copolymer 4 of 1 (R = H] and 4-vinylbenzenesulfonate, 20, obtained by spontaneous polymerization oi the two monomers as a melt or in concentrated aqueous solution [61]. Vinyl-type copolymers of 1 and 20, and 1 and 21 were also obtained by initiation with radicals (e.g. from ACVA), light or y-radiation. These experiments are summarized in Table 6.3.1. Copolymerization of 1 (R = H) with AMPS 21 is complicated when carried out as a spontaneous (i.e. absence of an initiator) process in water, methanol, or iV,iV-dimethylformamide (DMF). Two homopolymers derived from 1 (R = H), the 1,2-addition polymer, 2 (R = H), and the polyionene, 7. are obtained along with poly AMPS. Similar attempts to form copolymer from 1 (R = H) and vinylsulfonate have been unsuccessful. In fact, the latter monomei resisted all conditions of polymerization and 1 (R = H) formed the ionene 7 from a melt or in dilute aqueous solution (< 1.0 m) and yielded 2(R = H) in concentrated aqueous solution. Table 6.3.1. Recall that this behavior duplicates that reported for 1 (R = H) by Ringsdorf and others. Ringsdorf attributed the change in structure of homopolymer to micellization of 1 (R = H) in concentrated aqueous solution. 

Copolymerization can be carried out with styrene, acetonitrile, vinyl chloride, methyl acrylate, vinylpyridines, 2-vinylfurans, and so forth. The addition of 2-substituted thiazoles to different dienes or mixtures of dienes with other vinyl compounds often increases the rate of polymeriza tion and improves the tensile strength and the rate of cure of the final polymers. This allows vulcanization at lower temperature, or with reduced amounts of accelerators and vulcanizing agents. 

An example of a commercial semibatch polymerization process is the early Union Carbide process for Dynel, one of the first flame-retardant modacryhc fibers (23,24). Dynel, a staple fiber that was wet spun from acetone, was introduced in 1951. The polymer is made up of 40% acrylonitrile and 60% vinyl chloride. The reactivity ratios for this monomer pair are 3.7 and 0.074 for acrylonitrile and vinyl chloride in solution at 60°C. Thus acrylonitrile is much more reactive than vinyl chloride in this copolymerization. In addition, vinyl chloride is a strong chain-transfer agent. To make the Dynel composition of 60% vinyl chloride, the monomer composition must be maintained at 82% vinyl chloride. Since acrylonitrile is consumed much more rapidly than vinyl chloride, if no control is exercised over the monomer composition, the acrylonitrile content of the monomer decreases to approximately 1% after only 25% conversion. The low acrylonitrile content of the monomer required for this process introduces yet another problem. That is, with an acrylonitrile weight fraction of only 0.18 in the unreacted monomer mixture, the low concentration of acrylonitrile becomes a rate-limiting reaction step. Therefore, the overall rate of chain growth is low and under normal conditions, with chain transfer and radical recombination, the molecular weight of the polymer is very low. 

Internal Plasticizers. There has been much dedicated work on the possibiUty of internally plasticized PVC. However, in achieving this by copolymerization significant problems exist (/) the affinity of the growing polymer chain for vinyl chloride rather than a comonomer implies that the incorporation of a comonomer into the chain requites significant pressure (2) since the use of recovered monomer in PVC production is standard practice, contamination of vinyl chloride with comonomer in this respect creates additional problems and (J) the increasing complexity of the reaction can lead to longer reaction times and hence increased costs. Thus, since standard external plasticizers are relatively cheap they are normally preferred. 

Kondo maintained his interest in this area, and with his collaborators [62] he recently made detailed investigations on the polymerization and preparation of methyl-4-vinylphenyl-sulfonium bis-(methoxycarbonyl) meth-ylide (Scheme 27) as a new kind of stable vinyl monomer containing the sulfonium ylide structure. It was prepared by heating a solution of 4-methylthiostyrene, dimethyl-diazomalonate, and /-butyl catechol in chlorobenzene at 90°C for 10 h in the presence of anhydride cupric sulfate, and Scheme 27 was polymerized by using a, a -azobisi-sobutyronitrile (AIBN) as the initiator and dimethylsulf-oxide as the solvent at 60°C. The structure of the polymer was confirmed by IR and NMR spectra and elemental analysis. In addition, this monomeric ylide was copolymerized with vinyl monomers such as methyl methacrylate (MMA) and styrene. 

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