Chain transfer constants for monomers

A chain-transfer constant C for a substance is defined as the ratio of the rate constant klr for the chain transfer of a propagating radical with that substance to the rate constant kp for propagation of the radical. The chain-transfer constants for monomer, chain-transfer agent, and initiator are then given by... 

Inhibitors are characterized by inhibition constants which are defined as the ratio of the rate constant for transfer to inhibitor to the propagation constant for the monomer in analogy with Eq. (6.87) for chain transfer constants. For styrene at 50°C the inhibition constant of p-benzoquinone is 518, and that for O2 is 1.5 X 10. The Polymer Handbook (Ref. 3) is an excellent source for these and most other rate constants discussed in this chapter. 

Table 1. Polymerization and Chain-Transfer Constants for Various Monomers ...

Chain transfer to monomer is the main reaction controlling molecular weight and molecular weight distribution. The chain-transfer constant to monomer, C, is the ratio of the rate coefficient for transfer to monomer to that of chain propagation. This constant has a value of 6.25 x lO " at 30°C and 2.38 x 10 at 70°C and a general expression of 5.78 30°C, chain transfer to monomer happens once in every 1600 monomer... 

Using the methods described, the values of Cm and Ci in the benzoyl peroxide polymerization of styrene have been found to be 0.00006 and 0.055 respectively [Mayo et al., 1951]. The amount of chain transfer to monomer that occurs is negligible in this polymerization. The chain-transfer constant for benzoyl peroxide is appreciable, and chain transfer with initiator becomes increasingly important as the initiator concentration increases. These effects are shown in Fig. 3-7, where the contributions of the various sources of chain ends are indicated. The topmost plot shows the total number of polymer molecules per 105 styrene monomer units. The difference between successive plots gives the number of polymer molecules terminated by normal coupling termination, transfer to benzoyl peroxide, and transfer to styrene. 

The chain transfer constant for an additive or solvent in the polymerization can be determined. This value can then be compared with the transfer constants for the same substance in the polymerization of the same monomer by known radical, cationic, and anionic initiators. 

This article shows how successfully the cascade branching theory works for systems of practical interest. It is a main feature of the Flory-Stockmayer and the cascade theory that all mentioned properties of the branched system are exhaustively described by the probabilities which describe how many links of defined type have been formed on some repeating unit. These link probabilities are very directly related to the extent of reaction which can be obtained either by titration (e.g. of the phenolic OH and the epoxide groups in epoxide resins based on bisphenol A206,207)), or from kinetic quantities (e.g. the chain transfer constant and monomer conversion106,107,116)). The time dependence is fully included in these link probabilities and does not appear explicitly in the final equations for the measurable quantities. 

Free radical polymerization of styrene, of acrylate and of methacrylate monomers in solutions at 60° C in the presence of this preformed polymer produced graft copolymers in high efficiency, the chain transfer constants for these mercapto groups with styrene and methyl methacrylate being similar to those found with simple mercaptans (80, 85). 

One of the most striking features of CCT is the exceptionally fast rate at which it takes place. The molecular weight of a polymer can be reduced from tens of thousands to several hundred utilizing concentrations of cobalt catalyst as low as 100—300 ppm or 10 3 mol/L. The efficiency of catalysis can be measured as the ratio between the chain-transfer coefficients of the catalyzed reaction versus the noncatalyzed reaction. The chain-transfer constant to monomer, Cm, in MMA polymerization is believed to be approximately 2 x 10 5.29 The chain-transfer constant to catalyst, Cc, is as high as 103 for porphyrins and 104 for cobaloximes. Hence, improved efficiency of the catalyzed relative to the uncatalyzed reaction, CJCu, is 104/10 5 or 109. This value for the catalyst efficiency is comparable to many enzymatically catalyzed reactions whose efficiencies are in the range of 109—1011.18 The rate of hydrogen atom transfer for cobaloximes, the most active class of CCT catalysts to date, is so high that it is considered to be controlled by diffusion.5-30 32 Indeed, kc in this case is comparable to the termination rate constant.33... 

There is little support for the mechanism expressed by eqs 12 and 13. MMA is able to form a -complex with cobalt porphyrins,160 but the chain-transfer constant for its formation (1.8 L/mol s) is not high and is much smaller than the observed CCT chain-transfer constants. If the mechanism of eqs 12 and 13 is correct, then reduced concentrations of monomer should disfavor formation of LCoM, resulting in a decrease in the rate of CCT. The chain-transfer constant of the chain transfer is independent of the concentration of monomer.14,52 The mechanism expressed by eqs 12 and 13 will not be considered further. 

Because of the low magnitude of the chain transfer constant for chain transfer to the monomer for all vinyl groups, it has until now been impossible to establish the nature of the end groups and make a choice in favor of one or the other of the mechanisms. 

Chain transfer agents (CTA) are added to a latex formulation to help regulate (i.e., decrease) the molar mass and molar mass distribution of the latex polymer. The extent of chain transfer can be predicted, if the chain transfer constants (Cs) are known for a given monomer system. Riddle [114] presents a table summarizing some of the chain transfer constants for methyl methacrylate with a wide variety... 

Chain Transfer Constants for Solvents, Monomers, and Polymers Used in Acrylic Fiber Manufacture... 

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