Copolymer propagating

Note that this inquiry into copolymer propagation rates also increases our understanding of the differences in free-radical homopolymerization rates. It will be recalled that in Sec. 6.1 a discussion of this aspect of homopolymerization was deferred until copolymerization was introduced. The trends under consideration enable us to make some sense out of the rate constants for propagation in free-radical homopolymerization as well. For example, in Table 6.4 we see that kp values at 60°C for vinyl acetate and styrene are 2300 and 165 liter mol sec respectively. The relative magnitude of these constants can be understod in terms of the sequence above. 

It is worth while examining here the links between these two formalisms for polymer propagation (i.e. probabilistic and kinetic) because, under appropriate conditions, NMR-derived sequence distributions can be used to determine the relative reactivities of pairs of comonomers. Whilst more traditional techniques are available to do this, they prove to be very laborious and rather insensitive. In addition, of course, the NMR method can also provide insight into the mechanism of copolymer propagation often not available using traditional methods. 

Another example is a recent study of confinement effects in ionomers carried out at W-band. Electronic Tx and T2 relaxation as a function of temperature was measured at W-band for spin probes localized at the interface between the ionic clusters and the polymer. Excellent angular selection W-band EPR which resolves x-, y-, and z-orientations of the nitroxides in the magnetic field allowed authors to probe electronic relaxation along those orientations while the sample remained macroscopically disordered. Based on these measurements of the electronic relaxation as a function of the nitroxide orientation, it was concluded that reorientation of these spin probes has clear uniaxial features. Moreover, evidence was presented that the dynamic constraints on the poly(isoprene) chains in the diblock copolymer propagate over the whole chain consisting of approximately 170 monomer units. 

The formation of copolymers involves the reaction of (at least) two kinds of monomers. This means that each must be capable of undergoing the same propagation reaction, but is is apparent that quite a range of reactivities is compatible with this broad requirement. We shall examine such things as the polarity of monomers, the degree of resonance stabilization they possess and the steric... 

In this section we have seen that the copolymer composition depends to a large extent on the four propagation constants, although it is sufficient to consider these in terms of the two ratios ri and r2. In the next section we shall examine these ratios in somewhat greater detail. 

In any application of a copolymer the rate of formation of the product, its molecular weight, and the uniformity of its composition during manufacture are also important considerations. While the composition of a copolymer depends only on the relative rates of the various propagation steps, the rate of formation and the molecular weight depend on the initiation and termination rates as well. We shall not discuss these points in any detail, but merely indicate that the situation parallels the presentation of these items for homopolymers as given in Chap. 6. The following can be shown ... 

Copolymers of VF and a wide variety of other monomers have been prepared (6,41—48). The high energy of the propagating vinyl fluoride radical strongly influences the course of these polymerizations. VF incorporates well with other monomers that do not produce stable free radicals, such as ethylene and vinyl acetate, but is sparingly incorporated with more stable radicals such as acrylonitrile [107-13-1] and vinyl chloride. An Alfrey-Price value of 0.010 0.005 and an e value of 0.8 0.2 have been determined (49). The low value of is consistent with titde resonance stability and the e value is suggestive of an electron-rich monomer. 

Radicals are employed widely in the polymer industry, where their chain-propagating behavior transforms vinyl monomers into polymers and copolymers. The mechanism of addition polymeri2ation involves all three types of reactions discussed above, ie, initiation, propagation by addition to carbon—carbon double bonds, and termination ... 

When the initial monomer supply is exhausted, the anionic chain ends retain their activity. Thus, these anionic chains have been termed living polymers. If more monomer is added, they resume propagation. If it is a second monomer, the result is a block copolymer. 

The and e values of the aHyl group in DAP have been estimated as 0.029 and 0.04, respectively, suggesting that DAP acts as a fairly typical unconjugated, bifunctional monomer (42). Cyclization affects copolymerization, since cyclized radicals are less reactive in chain propagation. Thus DAP is less reactive in copolymerization than DAIP or DATP where cyclization is stericaHy hindered. Particular comonomers affect cyclization, chain transfer, and residual unsaturation in the copolymer products. DiaHyl tetrachloro- and tetrabromophthalates are low in reactivity. 

Copolymers with butadiene, ie, those containing at least 60 wt % butadiene, are an important family of mbbers. In addition to synthetic mbber, these compositions have extensive uses as paper coatings, water-based paints, and carpet backing. Because of unfavorable reaction kinetics in a mass system, these copolymers are made in an emulsion polymerization system, which favors chain propagation but not termination (199). The result is economically acceptable rates with desirable chain lengths. Usually such processes are mn batchwise in order to achieve satisfactory particle size distribution. 

Rea.CtlVltyRa.tlO Scheme. The composition of a copolymer at any point in time depends on the relative rates that each monomer can add to a chain end. If it is assumed that the chemical reactivity of a propagating chain depends only on the terminal unit and is not affected by any penultimate units, then four possible propagation steps in the copolymerisation of two monomers, and M2, with two growing chain ends, M and M2, can be written as follows ... 

Epichlorohydrin Elastomers without AGE. Polymerization on a commercial scale is done as either a solution or slurry process at 40—130°C in an aromatic, ahphatic, or ether solvent. Typical solvents are toluene, benzene, heptane, and diethyl ether. Trialkylaluniinum-water and triaLkylaluminum—water—acetylacetone catalysts are employed. A cationic, coordination mechanism is proposed for chain propagation. The product is isolated by steam coagulation. Polymerization is done as a continuous process in which the solvent, catalyst, and monomer are fed to a back-mixed reactor. Pinal product composition of ECH—EO is determined by careful control of the unreacted, or background, monomer in the reactor. In the manufacture of copolymers, the relative reactivity ratios must be considered. The reactivity ratio of EO to ECH has been estimated to be approximately 7 (35—37). 

Chain transfer reaction during propagation gives homopolymers as well as block copolymers. Separation of the homopolymers is performed by extraction with suitable solvents. Homopolymer A together with a small amount of block copolymer rich in component A are extracted... 

Sato, T. and Otsu, T. Formation of Living Propagating Radicals in Microspheres and Their Use in the Synthesis of Block Copolymers. Vol. 71, pp. 41 —78. 

In this section wc consider systems where the radical formed by propagation can eyclizc to yield a new propagating radical. Certain 1,4-dicncs undergo cyclocopolymerization with suitable olefins. For example, divinyl ether and MAH are proposed to undergo alternating copolymerization as illustrated in Scheme 4.19.167 These cyclo-copolymerizations can he quantitative only for the case of a strictly alternating copolymer. This can be achieved with certain electron donor-electron acceptor pairs, for example divinyl ether-maleic anhydride. 

The incidence of the various structures depends strongly on the comonomer. In copolymerization with acrylates structures 62 and 63 dominate. In copolymerization with VAc structure 61 dominates and 62 and 63 arc not observed. Structure 60 may be present in VAc copolymers to a very small extent but is not observed in acrylate copolymerizations. Structures 62 and 63 arc not observed and cannot be formed in methacrylate copolymerizations.290 The results were interpreted"90 in terms of the PVAc propagating radical having a lesser... 

Any understanding of the kinetics of copolymerization and the structure of copolymers requires a knowledge of the dependence of the initiation, propagation and termination reactions on the chain composition, the nature of the monomers and radicals, and the polymerization medium. This section is principally concerned with propagation and the effects of monomer reactivity on composition and monomer sequence distribution. The influence of solvent and complcxing agents on copolymerization is dealt with in more detail in Section 8.3.1. 

The influence of penultimate units on the kinetics of copolymerization and the composition of copolymers was first considered in a formal way by Merz et al and Ham.8 They consider eight propagation reactions (Scheme 7.2). 

In traditional treatments of copolymerizaiion kinetics, the values of the ratios sA and % are implicitly set equal to unity (Section 7.3.1.2.2). Since they contain no terms from cross propagation, these parameters have no direct influence on either the overall copolymer composition or the monomer sequence distribution they only influence the rate of polymerization. 

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