Copolymerization monomer reactivities

Another characteristic feature of ionic copolymerizations is the sensitivity of the monomer reactivity ratios to changes in the initiator, reaction medium, or temperature. This is quite different from the general behavior observed in radical copolymerization. Monomer reactivity ratios in radical copolymerization are far less dependent on reaction conditions. 

These equilibria also strongly affect copolymerization. Monomer reactivity ratios in controlled/living systems should be identical to those in conventional cationic copolymerizations, if the comonomers react exclusively with carbocationic species. The equilibrium between active and... 

Copolymerization. Monomer reactivity ratio parameters (rj and ra) have been defined as the ratio of the rate constant for a reactive species adding to its own type of monomer to the rate constant for its addition to the other monomer. The parameters have been very useful in predicting sequence distributions among different monomers in multicomponent polymerizations and in delineating compositional variations with conversion. 

Copolymerization involves the reaction of at least two different monomers A and B. In the case of chain copolymerization, the reactivity ratios and are important, aiid rg = / bb BA di re /cy die... 

GopolymeriZation Initiators. The copolymerization of styrene and dienes in hydrocarbon solution with alkyUithium initiators produces a tapered block copolymer stmcture because of the large differences in monomer reactivity ratios for styrene (r < 0.1) and dienes (r > 10) (1,33,34). In order to obtain random copolymers of styrene and dienes, it is necessary to either add small amounts of a Lewis base such as tetrahydrofuran or an alkaU metal alkoxide (MtOR, where Mt = Na, K, Rb, or Cs). In contrast to Lewis bases which promote formation of undesirable vinyl microstmcture in diene polymerizations (57), the addition of small amounts of an alkaU metal alkoxide such as potassium amyloxide ([ROK]/[Li] = 0.08) is sufficient to promote random copolymerization of styrene and diene without producing significant increases in the amount of vinyl microstmcture (58,59). 

Table 2 shows characteristic reactivity ratios for selected free-radical, ionic, and coordination copolymerizations. The reactivity ratios predict only tendencies some copolymerization, and hence some modification of physical properties, can occur even if and/or T2 are somewhat unfavorable. For example, despite their dissimilar reactivity ratios, ethylene and propylene can be copolymerized to a useful elastomeric product by adjusting the monomer feed or by usiag a catalyst that iacreases the reactivity of propylene relative to ethylene. 

Alfrey and Price proposed a means of predicting monomer reactivity in copolymerization from two parameters, (a measure of resonance) and e (a measure of polar effects) (8). These parameters have been related to the reactivity ratios by equations 15—17. 

The rates of addition to the unsubstituted terminus of monosubstituted and 1,1-disubstiluted olefins (this includes most polymerizable monomers) are thought to be determined largely by polar Factors.2 16 Polymer chemists were amongst the first to realize that polar factors were an important influence in determining the rate of addition. Such factors can account for the well-known tendency for monomer alternation in many radical copolymerizations and provide the basis for the Q-e, the Patterns of Reactivity, and many other schemes for estimating monomer reactivity ratios (Section 7.3.4). 

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. 

In this copolymerization, the reactivity ratios are such that there is a tendency for S and the acrylic monomers to alternate in the chain. This, in combination with the above-mentioned specificity in the initiation and termination steps, causes chains with an odd number of units to dominate over those with an even number of units. 

Harwood112 proposed that the solvent need not directly affect monomer reactivity, rather it may influence the way the polymer chain is solvated. Evidence for the proposal was the finding for certain copolymerizations, while the terminal model reactivity ratios appear solvent dependent, copolymers of the same overall composition had the same monomer sequence distribution. This was explained in... 

Copolymerization is of practical and theoretical interest2,72). The practical interest is a result of the possibility to synthesize polymers with modified properties as opposed to the homopolymers. It is theoretically interesting because the ratios of monomers in the starting mixture are in many cases different from those in the copolymer. This can be helpful for making assertions about reaction mechanisms and relative monomer reactivities. 

Mayo and Walling, who have given a penetrating critique of the Q,e scheme, point out that it represents in essence merely a transcription to equation form of the reactivity series of Table XX and the po-larity series of Table XXII. Regardless of the manner of interpretation adopted, it is apparent that monomer reactivity in copolymerization depends on two factors. One of these relates to the intrinsic characteristics of the monomer (and of the activated complex produced from it as well) as they tend to favor its addition to a radical. As we have seen, the capacity for resonance stabilization in the transition state is of foremost importance in determining the general level of monomer reactivity. The second factor has to do with the specificity... 

Reactive polymers can be synthesized by either polymerizing or copolymerizing monomers containing the desired functional groups, or performing one or more modifications on a suitable polymer to introduce the essential functionality. Polymers produced directly by polymerization of functionalized monomers have well defined structures, but the physical and mechanical properties of the... 

Monomer reactivity ratios and thus comonomer sequence distributions in copolymers can vary with copolymerization reaction conditions. The comonomer distribution could affect the geometry of the adsorbed polymer - mineral complex and the fines stabilization properties. 

Copolymerization. The reactivity ratios of 1-hexene (M ) with 5-methyl-l,4-hexadiene (M2) were determined by copolymerization at 30°C in hexane solvent using a Et2AlCl2/6-TiCl3 AA catalyst system (Al/Ti atomic ratio = 1.5). Copolymerizations were conducted in 4-oz. bottles using concentrations of 10 g. monomer in 40 g. hexane and 5.0 mmoles TiCl3 per 100 g. monomer. All other copolymerizations were conducted under similar conditions. The reactivity ratios were calculated by the. Tidwell-Mortimer (22) computer method. The compositions of the copolymers were measured by using 300 MHz H-NMR. 

We also investigated the copolymerizations of 1-hexene with 4-methyl-l-hexene and of 4-methyl-l-hexene with 5-methyl-l-hexene by the aforementioned techniques (33). The monomer reactivity ratios for these two pairs are shown in Table VII. 

It is highly unlikely that the reactivities of the various monomers would be such as to yield either block or alternating copolymes. The quantitative dependence of copolymer composition on monomer reactivities has been described [Korshak et al., 1976 Mackey et al., 1978 Russell et al., 1981]. The treatment is the same as that described in Chap. 6 for chain copolymerization (Secs. 6-2 and 6-5). The overall composition of the copolymer obtained in a step polymerization will almost always be the same as the composition of the monomer mixture since these reactions are carried out to essentially 100% conversion (a necessity for obtaining high-molecular-weight polymer). Further, for step copolymerizations of monomer mixtures such as in Eq. 2-192 one often observes the formation of random copolymers. This occurs either because there are no differences in the reactivities of the various monomers or the polymerization proceeds under reaction conditions where there is extensive interchange (Sec. 2-7c). The use of only one diacid or one diamine would produce a variation on the copolymer structure with either R = R" or R = R " [Jackson and Morris, 1988]. 

Equation 6-12 is known as the copolymerization equation or the copolymer composition equation. The copolymer composition, d M /d Mi, is the molar ratio of the two monomer units in the copolymer. monomer reactivity ratios. Each r as defined above in Eq. 6-11 is the ratio of the rate constant for a reactive propagating species adding tis own type of monomer to the rate constant for its additon of the other monomer. The tendency of two monomers to copolymerize is noted by r values between zero and unity. An r value greater than unity means that Mf preferentially adds M2 instead of M2, while an r value less than unity means that Mf preferentially adds M2. An r value of zero would mean that M2 is incapable of undergoing homopolymerization. 

For any specific type of initiation (i.e., radical, cationic, or anionic) the monomer reactivity ratios and therefore the copolymer composition equation are independent of many reaction parameters. Since termination and initiation rate constants are not involved, the copolymer composition is independent of differences in the rates of initiation and termination or of the absence or presence of inhibitors or chain-transfer agents. Under a wide range of conditions the copolymer composition is independent of the degree of polymerization. The only limitation on this generalization is that the copolymer be a high polymer. Further, the particular initiation system used in a radical copolymerization has no effect on copolymer composition. The same copolymer composition is obtained irrespective of whether initiation occurs by the thermal homolysis of initiators such as AIBN or peroxides, redox, photolysis, or radiolysis. Solvent effects on copolymer composition are found in some radical copolymerizations (Sec. 6-3a). Ionic copolymerizations usually show significant effects of solvent as well as counterion on copolymer composition (Sec. 6-4). 

Different types of copolymerization behavior are observed depending on the values of the monomer reactivity ratios. Copolymerizations can be classified into three types based on whether the product of the two monomer reactivity ratios r rx is unity, less than unity, or greater than unity. 

Monomer reactivity ratios are generally but not always independent of the reaction medium in radical copolymerization. There is a real problem here in that the accuracy of r values is often insufficient to allow one to reasonably conclude whether r or rx varies with changes in reaction media. The more recent determinations of r values by high-resolution NMR are much more reliable than previous data for this purpose. It has been observed that the... 

The effect of temperature on r is not large, since activation energies for radical propagation are relatively small and, more significantly, fall in a narrow range such that En Eu is less than 10 kJ mol-1 for most pairs of monomers. However, temperature does have an effect, since E 2 — E is not zero. An increase in temperature results in a less selective copolymerization as the two monomer reactivity ratios of a comonomer pair each tend toward unity with decreasing preference of either radical for either monomer. Temperature has the greatest... 

The monomer reactivity ratios for many of the most common monomers in radical copolymerization are shown in Table 6-2. These data are useful for a study of the relation between structure and reactivity in radical addition reactions. The reactivity of a monomer toward a radical depends on the reactivities of both the monomer and the radical. The relative reactivities of monomers and their corresponding radicals can be obtained from an analysis of the monomer reactivity ratios [Walling, 1957]. The reactivity of a monomer can be seen by considering the inverse of the monomer reactivity ratio (1 jf). The inverse of the monomer reactivity ratio gives the ratio of the rate of reaction of a radical with another monomer to its rate of reaction with its own monomer... 

TABLE 6-2 Monomer Reactivity Ratios in Radical Copolymerization ... 

The rates of radical-monomer reactions are also dependent on considerations of steric hindrance. This is easily observed by considering the reactivities of di, tri-, and tetrasubstituted ethylenes in copolymerization. Table 6-5 shows the kn values for the reactions of various chloroethylenes with vinyl acetate, styrene, and acrylonitrile radicals. The effect of a second substituent on monomer reactivity is approximately additive when both substituents are in the 1- or a-position. However, a second substituent when in the 2- or (3-position of the monomer results in a decrease in reactivity due to steric hindrance between it and the radical to which it is adding. Thus 2-10-fold increases and 2-20-fold decreases in the reactivities of vinylidene chloride and 1,2-dichloroethylene, respectively, are observed compared to vinyl chloride. 

Various attempts have been made to place the radical-monomer reaction on a quantitative basis in terms of correlating structure with reactivity. Success in this area would give a better understanding of copolymerization behavior and allow the prediction of the monomer reactivity ratios for comonomer pairs that have not yet been copolymerized. A useful correlation is the Q-e scheme of Alfrey and Price [1947], who proposed that the rate constant for a radical-monomer reaction, for example, for the reaction of Mp radical with M2 monomer, be written as... 

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