Applications of Copolymerization

The copolymerization of carbonyl monomes with alkenes has been even less studied than that between different carbonhyl monomers. The radiation-initiated copolymerization of styrene with formaldehyde proceeds by a cationic mechanism with a trend toward ideal behavior, r = 52 and r2 = 0 at —78°C [Castille and Stannett, 1966]. Hexafluoroacetone undergoes radiation-initiated copolymerization with ethylene, propene, and other a-olefins [Watanabe et al., 1979]. Anionic copolymerizations of aldehydes with isocyanates have also been reported [Odian and Hiraoka, 1972]. 

Most polystyrene products are not homopolystyrene since the latter is relatively brittle with low impact and solvent resistance (Secs. 3-14b, 6-la). Various combinations of copolymerization and blending are used to improve the properties of polystyrene [Moore, 1989]. Copolymerization of styrene with 1,3-butadiene imparts sufficient flexibility to yield elastomeric products [styrene-1,3-butadiene rubbers (SBR)]. Most SBR rubbers (trade names Buna, GR-S, Philprene) are about 25% styrene-75% 1,3-butadiene copolymer produced by emulsion polymerization some are produced by anionic polymerization. About 2 billion pounds per year are produced in the United States. SBR is similar to natural rubber in tensile strength, has somewhat better ozone resistance and weatherability but has poorer resilience and greater heat buildup. SBR can be blended with oil (referred to as oil-extended SBR) to lower raw material costs without excessive loss of physical properties. SBR is also blended with other polymers to combine properties. The major use for SBR is in tires. Other uses include belting, hose, molded and extruded goods, flooring, shoe soles, coated fabrics, and electrical insulation. 

Styrene-1,3-butadiene copolymers with higher styrene contents (50-70%) are used in latex paints. Styrene and 1,3-butadiene terpolymerized with small amounts of an unsaturated carboxylic acid are used to produce latexes that can be crosslinked through the carboxyl groups. These carboxylated SBR products are used as backing material for carpets. Styrene copolymerized with divinyl benzene yields crosslinked products, which find use in size-exclusion chromatography and as ion-exchange resins (Sec. 9-6). 

Radical copolymerization of styrene with lCM-0% acrylonitrile yields styrene-acrylonitrile (SAN) polymers. Acrylonitrile, by increasing the intermolecular forces, imparts solvent resistance, improved tensile strength, and raises the upper use temperature of polystyrene although impact resistance is only slightly improved. SAN finds applications in houseware 

High-impact polystyrene (HIPS) is produced by polymerizing styrene in the presence of a rubber, usually poly(l,3-butadiene). HIPS has improved impact resistance compared to polystyrene and competes with ABS products at low-cost end applications such as fast-food cups, lids, takeout containers, toys, kitchen appliances, and personal-care product containers. HIPS as well as ABS and SMA are used in physical blends with other polymers, such as polycarbonates, polyesters, and polyamides, to improve impact resistance (Sec. 2-13c-3). 

A significant fraction, more than 25%, of the low-density polyethylene (LDPE) (Sec. 3-14a) produced by radical polymerization consists of various copolymers of ethylene. LDPE has come under increasing economic pressure in recent years because of a combination of factors [Doak, 1986], High-density polyethylene (HDPE) has displaced LDPE in applications such as blow-molded bottles and thin films where the increased strength of HDPE is preferred over the clarity of LDPE. Linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) (Sec. 8-1 Ic) competes effectively with LDPE in terms of both cost and properties. New producers of ethylene have entered the LDPE market because of a lack of alternatives for their feedstocks. Many LDPE producers use copolymerization as a strategy to obtain products more resistant to displacement by HDPE and LLDPE. 

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Copolymerization allows the synthesis of an almost unlimited number of different products by variations in the nature and relative amounts of the two monomer units in the copolymer product. A prime example of the versatility of the copolymerization process is the case of polystyrene. More than 11 billion pounds per year of polystyrene products are produced annually in the United States. Only about one-third of the total is styrene homopolymer. Polystyrene is a brittle plastic with low impact strength and low solvent resistance (Sec. 3-14b). Copolymerization as well as blending greatly increase the usefulness of polystyrene. Styrene copolymers and blends of copolymers are useful not only as plastics but also as elastomers. Thus copolymerization of styrene with acrylonitrile leads to increased impact and solvent resistance, while copolymerization with 1,3-butadiene leads to elastomeric properties. Combinations of styrene, acrylonitrile, and 1,3-butadiene improve all three properties simultaneously. This and other technological applications of copolymerization are discussed further in Sec. 6-8. 

Another application of copolymerization technology is the synthesis of resins containing crown ether units to give materials with extraction and re-extraction properties. These resins are synthesized from phenol or 1,3-benzenediol, methanal, and benzo-13-crown-4 and benzo-9-crown-3 (Scheme 24). These crown ether containing resins show otential applications in catalysis because of easy recovery of the resin beads by filtration and the prevention of contamination of the catalyzed product with toxic macrocycles. Furthermore, these modified phenolics may be applicable in analytic chemistry as chromatographic stationary phases for separation of ionic substances from neutral ones and in heterogeneous phase-transfer catalysis in preparative chemistry [162],... 

Generalized first-order kinetics have been extensively reviewed in relation to teclmical chemical applications [59] and have been discussed in the context of copolymerization [53]. From a theoretical point of view, the general class of coupled kinetic equation (A3.4.138) and equation (A3.4.139) is important, because it allows for a general closed-fomi solution (in matrix fomi) [49]. Important applications include the Pauli master equation for statistical mechanical systems (in particular gas-phase statistical mechanical kinetics) [48] and the investigation of certain simple reaction systems [49, ]. It is the basis of the many-level treatment of... 

The combination of durability and clarity and the ability to tailor molecules relatively easily to specific applications have made acryflc esters prime candidates for numerous and diverse applications. At normal temperatures the polyacrylates are soft polymers and therefore tend to find use in applications that require flexibility or extensibility. However, the ease of copolymerizing the softer acrylates with the harder methacrylates, styrene, acrylonitrile, and vinyl acetate, allows the manufacture of products that range from soft mbbers to hard nonfilm-forming polymers. 

An example of the contribution of polar interactions between an acrylic PSA and a substrate is shown in Fig. 6. By copolymerizing iso-octylacrylate and acrylic acid, using a monomer ratio of, respectively, 95/5 and 90/10, two otherwise identical PSAs were made. The PSAs were laminated to both sides of a foam core to make an attachment tape as used in the automotive industry for the application of body side moldings to a car. One side of the foam tape was laminated against an aluminum foil backing. The other side was laminated against an automotive paint-coated panel to make the final test sample. The test sample was allowed to... 

Polymers and copolymers of acrylamide (obtained by copolymerization or postreaction of polyacrylamide) with different values of the molecular weight, composition, distribution of molecular weight and compositions, linear and cross-linked have different functions and are used in many fields. The main functions and applications of acrylamide polymers are shown in Table 4. 

The major applications of catalytic chain transfer are in molecular weight control and in synthesis of macromonomcrs based on methacrylate esters. However, they have also been shown effective in polymerizations and copolymerizations of MAA, MAM, MAN, AMS, S and some other monomers. 

The various copolymerization models that appear in the literature (terminal, penultimate, complex dissociation, complex participation, etc.) should not be considered as alternative descriptions. They are approximations made through necessity to reduce complexity. They should, at best, be considered as a subset of some overall scheme for copolymerization. Any unified theory, if such is possible, would have to take into account all of the factors mentioned above. The models used to describe copolymerization reaction mechanisms arc normally chosen to be the simplest possible model capable of explaining a given set of experimental data. They do not necessarily provide, nor are they meant to be, a complete description of the mechanism. Much of the impetus for model development and drive for understanding of the mechanism of copolymerization conies from the need to predict composition and rates. Developments in models have followed the development and application of analytical techniques that demonstrate the inadequacy of an earlier model. 

Cases have been reported where the application of the penultimate model provides a significantly better fit to experimental composition or monomer sequence distribution data. In these copolymerizations raab "bab and/or C BA rBBA- These include many copolymerizations of AN, 4 26 B,"7 MAH28" 5 and VC.30 In these cases, there is no doubt that the penultimate model (or some scheme other than the terminal model) is required. These systems arc said to show an explicit penultimate effect. In binary copolynierizations where the explicit penultimate model applies there may be between zero and three azeotropic compositions depending on the values of the reactivity ratios.31... 

For many systems, the copolymer composition appears to be adequately described by the terminal model yet the polymerization kinetics demand application of the penultimate model. These systems where rAAB=rliAR and aha bba hut sAfsB are said to show an implicit penultimate effect. The most famous system of this class is MMA-S copolymerization (Section 7.3.1.2.3). 

It has been argued that for a majority of copolymerizations, composition data can be adequately predicted by the terminal model copolymer composition equation (eqs. 5-9). However, in that composition data are not particularly good for model discrimination, any conclusion regarding the widespread applicability of the implicit penultimate model on this basis is premature. 

The chief application of macromonomers is, however, to provide easy access to graft copolymers 69,70,71,84,851 by free radical copolymerization with a vinylic or acrylic comonomer. This grafting through process offers graft length control and provides randomness of graft distribution. 

Tables IV and V contain appropriate balance equations for nonisothermal free-radical polymerizations and copolymerizations, which are seen to conform to equation 2k. Following the procedure outlined above, we obtain the CT s for homopolymerizations listed in Table VI. Corresponding CT s for copolymerizations can be. obtained in a similar way, and indeed the first and fourth listed in Table VII were. The remaining ones, however, were derived via an alternate route based upon the definitions in Table VI labeled "equivalent" together with approximate forms for pj, which were necessitated by application of the Semenov-type runaway analysis to copolymerizations, and which will subsequently be described. Some useful dimensionless parameters defined in terms of these CT s appear in Tables VIII, IX and X.

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