Comparison of Radical and Ionic Polymerizations

Principles of Polymerization, Fourth Edition. By George Odian ISBN 0-471-27400-3 Copyright 2004 John Wiley Sons, Inc. 

Ionic polymerizations, especially cationic polymerizations, are not as well understood as radical polymerizations because of experimental difficulties involved in their study. The nature of the reaction media in ionic polymerizations is often not clear since heterogeneous inorganic initiators are often involved. Further, it is extremely difficult in most instances to obtain reproducible kinetic data because ionic polymerizations proceed at very rapid rates and are extremely sensitive to the presence of small concentrations of impurities and other adventitious materials. The rates of ionic polymerizations are usually greater than those of radical polymerizations. These comments generally apply more to cationic than anionic polymerizations. Anionic systems are more reproducible because the reaction components are better defined and more easily purified. 

Ionic polymerizations are characterized by a wide variety of modes of initiation and termination. Unlike radical polymerization, termination in ionic polymerization never involves the bimolecular reaction between two propagating polymer chains of like charge. Termination of a propagating chain occurs by its reaction with the counterion, solvent, or other species present in the reaction system. 

---

III. COMPARISON OF FREE-RADICAL AND IONIC OLEFIN POLYMERIZATION REACTIONS... 

Even though the catalyst may be only partially converted to H B", the concentration of these ions may be on the order of 10 times greater than the concentration of free radicals in the corresponding stationary state of the radical mechanism. Likewise, kp for ionic polymerization is on the order of 100 times larger than the sum of the constants for all termination and transfer steps. By contrast, kp/kj which is pertinent for the radical mechanism, is typically on the order of 10. These comparisons illustrate that ionic polymerizations occur very fast even at low temperatures. 

Most addition polymers are formed from polymerizations exhibiting chain-growth kinetics. This includes the typical polymerizations, via free radical or some ionic mode, of the vast majority of vinyl monomers such as vinyl chloride, ethylene, styrene, propylene, methyl methacrylate, and vinyl acetate. By comparison, most condensation polymers are formed from systems exhibiting stepwise kinetics. Industrially this includes the formation of polyesters and polyamides (nylons). Thus, there exists a large overlap between the terms stepwise kinetics and condensation polymers, and chainwise kinetics and addition (or vinyl) polymers. A comparison of the two types of systems is given in Table 4.1. 

Polymerization Catalysed by Acids and Bases. Carbonium ions and carbanions respectively are carriers of the chain transfer in cationic and anionic polymerizations respectively. Ionic polymerization mechanism was exploited for the synthesis of polymeric stabilizers in comparison with the free-radical polymerization only exceptionally. The cationic process was used for the synthesis of copolymers of 2,6-di-tert-butyl-4-vinylphenol with cyclopentadiene and/or for terpolymers with cyclopentadiene and isobutylene [109]. System SnCWEtsAlCla was used as an initiator. Poly(lO-vinylphenothiazin) was prepared by means of catalysis with titanium chlorides [110]. Polymers of 4-[a-(2-hydroxy-3,5-dimethylphenyl)ethyl]-vinylbenzene [111] and 3-allyl-2-hydroxyacetophenone [112] were also prepared under conditions of cationic polymerization. 

In theory, any asymmetric olefmic, as well as acrylic, styre-nic, and vinylic, monomer can have tactic chain microstructures. However, it depends on the coordination power of catalysts. Free-radical polymerization processes do not have any coordination power and thus produce atactic polymers. Ionic polymerization processes have certain levels of coordination power, contributed by counterions. The counterion at the vicinity of a propagating center can coordinate the insertion of monomer molecules. Unfortunately, this coordination power is weak and yields a low degree of tacticity. As a result of the equilibrium between ion pairs and free ions, individual chains can have some tactic segments generated from the former with others atactic from the latter. In comparison, Ziegler-Natta catalysts possess strong coordination power for tactic polymer production. 

For styrene-based random copolymers, functional groups can be introduced into the polymer chains via copolymerization with functional styrene derivatives, because the electronic effects of the substituents are small in the metal-catalyzed polymerizations in comparison to the ionic counterparts. Random copolymer R-6 is of this category, synthesized from styrene and />acetoxystyrene.372 It can be transformed into styrene// -vinylphenol copolymers by hydrolysis.380 The benzyl acetate and the benzyl ether groups randomly distributed in R-7 and R-8 were transformed into benzyl bromide, which can initiate the controlled radical polymerizations of styrene in the presence of copper catalysts to give graft copolymers.209 Epoxy groups can be introduced, as in R-9, by the copper-catalyzed copolymerizations without loss of epoxy functions, while the nitroxide-mediated systems suffer from side reactions due to the high-temperature reaction.317... 

---