Free radical addition polymerization activation energies

Free radical polymerization offers a convenient approach toward the design and synthesis of special polymers for almost every area. In a free radical addition polymerization, the growing chain end bears an unpaired electron. A free radical is usually formed by the decomposition of a relatively unstable material called initiator. The free radical is capable of reacting to open the double bond of a vinyl monomer and add to it, with an electron remaining unpaired. The energy of activation for the propagation is 2-5 kcal/mol that indicates an extremely fast reaction (for condensation reaction this is 30 to 60 kcal/mol). Thus, in a very short time (usually a few seconds or less) many more monomers add successively... 

Radical additions are typically highly exothermic and activation energies are small for carbon30-31 and oxygen centered32,33 radicals of the types most often encountered in radical polymerization, Thus, according to the Hammond postulate, these reactions are expected to have early reactant-like transition states in which there is little localization of the free spin on C(J. However, for steric factors to be important at all, there must be significant bond deformation and movement towards. sp hybridization at Cn. 

In general, a polymerization process model consists of material balances (component rate equations), energy balances, and additional set of equations to calculate polymer properties (e.g., molecular weight moment equations). The kinetic equations for a typical linear addition polymerization process include initiation or catalytic site activation, chain propagation, chain termination, and chain transfer reactions. The typical reactions that occur in a homogeneous free radical polymerization of vinyl monomers and coordination polymerization of olefins are illustrated in Table 2. 

Secondary radicals with free valence in the chain center ( CX ) participate as a rule in the reactions of macromolecular decomposition and the transfer of H atom. Decomposition is the inverse to the reaction of addition. That is why, the lower the polymerization heat, the lower the activation energy of decomposition and the stronger the probability of macromolecular destruction on free valence localization. Polymers characterized by low polymerization heat of their monomers (e.g. the polymerization heat of PMMA is about 55kJ/mole) are strongly decomposing, not only under mechanical effects, but also in other processes of radical formation. 

Styrene is one of those monomers that lends itself to polymerization by free-radical, cationic, anionic, and coordination mechanisms. This is due to several reasons. One is resonance stabilization of the reactive polystyryl species in the transition state that lowers the activation energy of the propagation reaction. Another is the low polarity of the monomer. This facilitates attack by free radicals, differently charged ions, and metal complexes. In addition, no side reactions that occur in ionic polymerizations of monomers with functional groups,are possible. Styrene pol erizes in the dark by a free-radical mechanism more slowly than it does in the presence of light. Also, styrene formed in the dark is reported to have a greater amount of syndiotactic placement. The amount of branching in the polymer prepared by a free-radical mechanism increases with temperature. This... 

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