Copolymerisation

Transfer to polymer This type of transfer leads to branching of the polymer and is negligible in the copolymerisation of MMA and EDMA [15]. 

Transfer to solvent A number of solvents are reactive towards free radicals. Halogenated solvents belong to this group and CCI4 is particularly reactive. They react with the growing polymer chain by abstraction of a chlorine radical and the resulting solvent radical can then initiate a new chain or terminate a growing chain [10]. 

Transfer to template Several templates are not compatible with free radical reactions since they are either monomers themselves or are capable of transferring free radicals to either the growing polymer or the initiator (see Section 2.8). Reactivity of this kind should be established prior to polymerisation by model reactions on a small scale. 

Some reagents react with the initiating radical to give unreactive substances, a process known as inhibition. A common inhibitor for vinyl polymerisations is hydroquinone, which reacts by the transfer of two hydrogen radicals to the initiator radicals (Fig. 2.4). This gives quinone and unreactive initiator and has the net effect of causing a lag time in the polymerisation and a decrease in the initiator concentration. Monomers are often stored in the presence of inhibitor in order to prevent polymerisation. The amount and type of inhibitor may vary depending on the monomer batch and the manufacturer. For inter-laboratory comparisons of materials to be possible, it is therefore important to remove the inhibitor and purify the monomers prior to use [13]. 

Most of the imprinted polymers described to date are copolymers, i.e. polymers formed by incorporating two monomers in the polymer. Depending on the relative reactivity of the monomers different types of polymers are formed [10]. For linear vinyl polymers these are  

Step polymerisations tend to be carried out using two different bifunctional molecules so that these give rise to molecules which are essentially copolymers. For example, nylon 6,6 is prepared from hexamethylenediamine and adipic acid it thus consists of alternating residues along the polymer chain and may be thought of as an alternating copolymer. 

On the other hand, nylon 6 is prepared from caprolactam, which behaves as a bifunctional monomer bearing two different functional groups, and hence the polymer is made up of just one type of unit along the backbone it is therefore a homopolymer. 

Chain reactions carried out on one type of monomer give rise to homopolymers when using two types of monomer the situation is more complicated. For example, polymerising mixtures of vinyl chloride with acrylate esters gives rise to a range of molecules, the first of which are relatively rich in acrylate molecules formed later, when the amount of acrylate monomer is relatively depleted, are richer in vinyl chloride. In a number of instances, reactions of this kind can be used to prepare polymers containing monomers which will not homopolymerise, e.g. maleic anhydride and stil-bene (vinylbenzene). 

In a copolymerisation involving two monomers, A and B, reacting polymer chains can have either monomer A or monomer B at the growing end. As a result, there are four possible reactions Chain-end A (written A ) with monomer A or monomer B, and chain-end B ( B ) with A or with B. Each has a different rate constant, which can be designated and 

Once the copolymerisation reaction has become properly established, the radical chains A- and B- each achieve a steady-state concentration. The absolute rate of conversion of A- to B- and of B- to A- becomes the same  

When two monomers A and B are mixed and radical polymerisation is initiated, four propagation reactions are possible  

composition of the copolymers depends on the reactivity of monomers A and B with the reactive centres and on the composition of the monomer mixture, which can vary with conversion. 

When tA = rB, the composition of both the mixture of monomers and the copolymer does not depend on conversion. 

When rA = rB= 1, this means that A or B has a similar reactivity towards —A and —B. As a result, instant composition of the copolymer is ideally random. 

When rA = rB 0.01, this means that the reactivity of A on —B is far higher than on—A, and the reactivity of Bon— A is far higher than on— B. The resulting copolymer is strongly alternate. 

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Copolymerisation of vinyl acetate and vinyl chloride yields resins of desirable properties they are strong and adhesive, thermoplastic, and are suitable for the manufacture of synthetic fibre (Vinyon). 

As a rule, LLDPE resins do not contain long-chain branches. However, some copolymers produced with metallocene catalysts in solution processes can contain about 0.002 long-chain branches per 100 ethylene units (1). These branches are formed in auto-copolymerisation reactions of ethylene with polymer molecules containing vinyl double bonds on their ends (2). 

Dow catalysts have a high capabihty to copolymetize linear a-olefias with ethylene. As a result, when these catalysts are used in solution-type polymerisation reactions, they also copolymerise ethylene with polymer molecules containing vinyl double bonds at their ends. This autocopolymerisation reaction is able to produce LLDPE molecules with long-chain branches that exhibit some beneficial processing properties (1,2,38,39). Distinct from other catalyst systems, Dow catalysts can also copolymerise ethylene with styrene and hindered olefins (40). 

Chromium Oxide-Based Catalysts. Chromium oxide-based catalysts were originally developed by Phillips Petroleum Company for the manufacture of HDPE resins subsequendy, they have been modified for ethylene—a-olefin copolymerisation reactions (10). These catalysts use a mixed sihca—titania support containing from 2 to 20 wt % of Ti. After the deposition of chromium species onto the support, the catalyst is first oxidised by an oxygen—air mixture and then reduced at increased temperatures with carbon monoxide. The catalyst systems used for ethylene copolymerisation consist of sohd catalysts and co-catalysts, ie, triaLkylboron or trialkyl aluminum compounds. Ethylene—a-olefin copolymers produced with these catalysts have very broad molecular weight distributions, characterised by M.Jin the 12—35 and MER in the 80—200 range. 

AH higher a-olefins, in the presence of Ziegler-Natta catalysts, can easily copolymerise both with other a-olefins and with ethylene (51,59). In these reactions, higher a-olefins are all less reactive than ethylene and propylene (41). Their reactivities in the copolymerisation reactions depend on the sise and the branching degree of their alkyl groups (51) (see Olefin polya rs, linear low density polyethylene). 

Organic peroxides are used in the polymer industry as thermal sources of free radicals. They are used primarily to initiate the polymerisation and copolymerisation of vinyl and diene monomers, eg, ethylene, vinyl chloride, styrene, acryUc acid and esters, methacrylic acid and esters, vinyl acetate, acrylonitrile, and butadiene (see Initiators). They ate also used to cute or cross-link resins, eg, unsaturated polyester—styrene blends, thermoplastics such as polyethylene, elastomers such as ethylene—propylene copolymers and terpolymers and ethylene—vinyl acetate copolymer, and mbbets such as siUcone mbbet and styrene-butadiene mbbet. 

DADC may be polymerised industrially with small amounts of other miscible Hquid monomers. Some acryflc ester monomers and maleic anhydride may accelerate polymerisation. Copolymerisation with methacrylates, diaHyl phthalates, triaHyl isocyanurate, maleates, maleimides, and unsaturated polyesters are among the examples in the early Hterature. Copolymers of DADC with poly-functional unsaturated esters give castings of high clarity for eyeglass lenses and other optical appHcations (20). 

Poly(lactide-coglycolide). Mixtures of lactide and glycolide monomers have been copolymerised in an effort to extend the range of polymer properties and rates of in vivo absorption. Poly(lactide- (9-glycolide) polymers undergo a simple hydrolysis degradation mechanism, which is sensitive to both pH and the presence of ensymes (32). 

Polyglyconate (5) is made by the bulk copolymerisation of a mixture of 67% glycoHde and 33% trimethylene carbonate. The suture is distributed under the trade names Maxon and Maxon CV. It is claimed to retain approximately 50% of its strength four weeks after implantation, 25% at six weeks, and to be essentially completely absorbed ia six months. 

Tetraneopentyltitanium [36945-13-8] Np Ti, forms from the reaction of TiCl and neopentyllithium ia hexane at —80° C ia modest yield only because of extensive reduction of Ti(IV). Tetranorbomyltitanium [36333-76-3] can be prepared similarly. When exposed to oxygen, (NpO)4Ti forms. If it is boiled ia ben2ene, it decomposes to neopentane. When dissolved ia monomers, eg, a-olefins or dienes, styrene, or methyl methacrylate, it initiates a slow polymerisation (211,212). Results from copolymerisation studies iadicate a radical mechanism (212). Ultraviolet light iacreases the rate of dissociation to... 

Copolymerisation also affects morphology under other crystallisation conditions. Copolymers ia the form of cast or molded sheets are much more transparent because of the small spheruHte size. In extreme cases, crystallinity cannot be detected optically, but its effect on mechanical properties is pronounced. Before crystallisation, films are soft and mbbery, with low modulus and high elongation. After crystallisation, they are leathery and tough, with higher modulus and lower elongation. 

J. Delgado, Miniemulsion Copolymerisation of Vinyl Acetate and n-ButylAcrylate, Ph.D. dissertation, 1986. 

In addition to copolymerisation, polyethylenes terrninated as ketones, alcohols, and carboxyHc acids with molecular weights as high as 700 daltons are now available. The products offer the same chemical functionaHty as common fatty alcohols and acids, but are higher melting and harder. Similar to the fatty alcohols and acids, derivatives such as ethoxylates, esters, and amides also are available as higher melting versions of the fatty derivatives. 

Another important use of BCl is as a Ftiedel-Crafts catalyst ia various polymerisation, alkylation, and acylation reactions, and ia other organic syntheses (see Friedel-Crafts reaction). Examples include conversion of cyclophosphasenes to polymers (81,82) polymerisation of olefins such as ethylene (75,83—88) graft polymerisation of vinyl chloride and isobutylene (89) stereospecific polymerisation of propylene (90) copolymerisation of isobutylene and styrene (91,92), and other unsaturated aromatics with maleic anhydride (93) polymerisation of norhornene (94), butadiene (95) preparation of electrically conducting epoxy resins (96), and polymers containing B and N (97) and selective demethylation of methoxy groups ortho to OH groups (98). 

The mutual polymerisation of two or more monomers is called copolymerisation. This topic has been comprehensively reviewed (4,5). Monomers frequentiy show a different reactivity toward copolymerisation than toward homopolymerisation. In fact, some monomers that can be bomopolymerised only with great difficulty, can be readily copolymerised. One such monomer is maleic anhydride. It is rather inert to free-radical homopolymerisation yet can be copolymerised convenientiy with styrene and many other monomers under free-radical conditions. 

Chain-Growth Gopolymerization Theory. The theory of chain-growth (eg, radical, anionic, etc) copolymerisation has received more attention than that of step-growth or other copolymerisations. In the case of chain-growth copolymerisation, growing polymer chains must choose between more than one monomer. Such a choice or relative reactivity has been quantitatively treated by the reactivity ratio (6,7) and the Q-e schemes (8). 

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 ... 

The ratio describes the relative reactivity of polymer chain M toward monomer M and monomer M2. Likewise, describes the relative reactivity of polymer chain M2 toward M2 and M. With a steady-state assumption, the copolymerisation equation can be derived from the propagation steps in equations 3—6. 

Coordination Gopolymerization. Examples of coordination copolymerisation ate shown in equations 28 and 29 (36). 

The earliest study describing vulcanised polymers of esters of acryUc acid was carried out in Germany by Rohm (2) before World War I. The first commercial acryUc elastomers were produced in the United States in the 1940s (3—5). They were homopolymers and copolymers of ethyl acrylate and other alkyl acrylates, with a preference for poly(ethyl acrylate) [9003-32-17, due to its superior balance of properties. The main drawback of these products was the vulcanisation. The fully saturated chemical stmcture of the polymeric backbone in fact is inactive toward the classical accelerators and curing systems. As a consequence they requited the use of aggressive and not versatile compounds such as strong bases, eg, sodium metasiUcate pentahydrate. To overcome this limitation, monomers containing a reactive moiety were incorporated in the polymer backbone by copolymerisation with the usual alkyl acrylates. 

It may be noted here that it is frequently possible to polymerise two monomers together so that residues from both monomers occur together in the same polymer chain. In addition polymerisation this normally occurs in a somewhat random fashion and the product is known as a binary copolymer. It is possible to copolymerise more than two monomers together and in the case of three monomers the product is referred to as a ternary copolymer or terpolymer. The term homopolymer is sometimes used to refer to a polymer made from a single monomer. 

The kinetics of copolymerisation are rather complex since four propagation reactions can take place if two monomers are present... 

An alternative approach is to copolymerise only up to a limited degree of conversion, say 40%. In such cases although there will be some variation in composition it will be far less than would occur if the reaction is taken to completion. 

The homopolymers of p-hydroxybenzoic acid have such a high value for the that they are somewhat intractable. Useful materials may, however, be made by copolymerising with a view to introducing some molecular flexibility or reducing chain packing or introducing some non-linear links. Commercially important liquid crystal polyesters are discussed in Chapter 25. 

It must be pointed out that deviations from such a simple relationship do occur. For example, since random copolymerisation tends to promote disorder, reduce molecular packing and also reduce the interchain forces of attraction, the Tg of copolymers is often lower than would be predicted by the linear relationship. Examples are also known where the Tg of the copolymer is higher than predicted. This could occur where hydrogen bonding or dipole attraction is possible between dissimilar comonomer residues in the chain but not between similar residues, i.e. special interchain forces exist with the copolymers. 

Whereas the glass transition of a copolymer is usually intermediate between those of the corresponding homopolymers this is not commonly the case with the melting points. Figure 4.12 shows the effect of copolymerising hexamethylenesebacamide with hexamethyleneterephthalamide. Only when the monomer units are isomorphous, so that the molecules can take up the same structure, is there a linear relationship between melting point and composition (as with hexamethyleneadipamide and hexamethyleneterephthalamide). 

By copolymerising with a small amount of second monomer which acts as an obstruction to the unzipping reaction, in the event of this being allowed to start. On the industrial scale methyl methacrylate is sometimes copolymerised with a small amount of ethyl acrylate, and formaldehyde copolymerised with ethylene oxide or 1,3-dioxolane for this very reason. 

Polymers containing oxazoline groups are obtained either by grafting the 2-oxazoline onto a suitable existing polymer such as polyethylene or polyphenylene oxide or alternatively by copolymerising a monomer such as styrene or methyl methacrylate with a small quantity (<1%) of a 2-oxazoline. The grafting reaction may be carried out very rapidly (3-5 min) in an extruder at temperatures of about 200°C in the presence of a peroxide such as di-t-butyl peroxide Figure 7.13). 

By block copolymerisation so that one component of the block copolymer has a Tg well below the expected service temperature range (e.g polypropylene with small blocks of polyethylene or preferably polypropylene with small amorphous blocks of ethylene-propylene copolymer). 

The more recently developed so-called linear low-density polyethylenes are virtually free of long chain branches but do contain short side chains as a result of copolymerising ethylene with a smaller amount of a higher alkene such as oct-1-ene. Such branching interferes with the ability of the polymer to crystallise as with the older low-density polymers and like them have low densities. The word linear in this case is used to imply the absence of long chain branches. 

One unfortunate characteristic property of polypropylene is the dominating transition point which occurs at about 0°C with the result that the polymer becomes brittle as this temperature is approached. Even at room temperature the impact strength of some grades leaves something to be desired. Products of improved strength and lower brittle points may be obtained by block copolymerisation of propylene with small amounts (4-15%) of ethylene. Such materials are widely used (known variously as polyallomers or just as propylene copolymers) and are often preferred to the homopolymer in injection moulding and bottle blowing applications. 

Experiments were earned out to investigate the transparency of various materials produced by copolymerising 4MP1 with other olefins such as but-1-ene, hex-l-ene and oct-l-ene. 

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