MMA-S copolymerization

The Chemistry of Radical Polymerization Table 7.5. Implicit Penultimate Model Reactivity Ratios 

Triad information is more powerful, but typically is subject to more experimental error and signal assignments are often ambiguous (Section 7.3.3.12). Triad data for the MMA-S system are consistent with the terminal model and support the view that any penultimate unit effects on specificity are small.Mv lS 

Further evidence that penultimate unit effects are small in the MMA-S system comes from comparing the reactivities of small model radicals with the reactivity ratios (Section 7.3.1.2.2 and Table 7.4). 

If the terminal model adequately explains the copolymer composition, as is often the case, the terminal model is usually assumed to apply. Even where statistical tests show that the penultimate model does not provide a significantly better fit to experimental data than the tenninal model, this should not be construed as evidence that penultimate unit effects are unimportant. It is necessary to test for model discrimination, rather than merely for fit to a given model. In this context, it is important to remember that composition data are of very low power when it comes to model discrimination. For MMA-S copolymerization, even though experimental precision is high, the penultimate model confidence intervals are quite large 0.4 rAAB BAB 2.7, The terminal model 

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For many systems, the copolymer composition appears to be adequately described by the terminal model yet the polymerization kinetics demand application of the penultimate model. These systems where rAAB=rliAR and aha bba hut sAfsB are said to show an implicit penultimate effect. The most famous system of this class is MMA-S copolymerization (Section 7.3.1.2.3). 

The values of sA and. ru are not well defined by kinetic data.59 61 The wide variation in. vA and for MMA-S copolymerization shown in Table 7.5 reflects the large uncertainties associated with these values, rather than differences in the rate data for the various experiments. Partly in response to this, various simplifications to the implicit penultimate model have been used (e.g. rA3rBA= W- and -Va=- h)- These problems also prevent trends in the values with monomer structure from being established. 

The reaction between the PMMA and PS model radicals (4 and 5, generated from the unsymmetrical azo-compound 3) has been studied as a model for crosstermination in MMA-S copolymerization (Scheme 7.13).178,179 The value for tcross reaction was 0.56. In disproportionation, transfer of hydrogen from the PS model 5 to the PMMA radical 4 was ca 5.1 times more prevalent than transfer in the reverse direction (from 4 to 5). The value of kJklc(90°C) is between those of Atd/ tc(90oC) for the self-reaction of these radicals... 

Studies on the reactions of small model radicals with monomers provide indirect support but do not prove the bootstrap effect. Krslina et a/. " showed that the reactivities of MMA and MAN model radicals towards MMA, S and VAc were independent of solvent. However, small but significant solvent effects on reactivity ratios are reported for MMA/VAc" and MMA/S" " copolymerizations. For the model systems, where there is no polymer coil to solvate, there should be no bootstrap effect and reactivities are determined by the global monomer ratio [MaoI/LMbo]. " ... 

There is also some evidence that the ionic liquid medium affects polymer structure. Uiedron and Kubisa reported that the tacticity of PM A prepared in the chiral ionic liquid 19 is different from that prepared in conventional solvent. It is also reported that reactivity ratios tor MMA-S copolymerization in the ionic liquid 18 differ from those observed for bulk copolymerization. 

The kinetics of many copolymerizations have now been examined with absolute (overall) propagation rate constants being determined by the rotating sector, PLP or FSR methods. A similar situation as pertains for the MMA-S... 

For copolymerizations between non protie monomers solvent effects are less marked. Indeed, early work concluded that the reactivity ratios in copolymerizations involving only non-protic monomers (eg. S, MMA, AN, VAe, etc.) should show no solvent dependence.100101 More recent studies on these and other systems (e.g. AN-S,102-105 E-VAc,106 MAN-S,107 MMA-S,10s "° MMA-VAc1" ) indicate small yet significant solvent effects (some recent data for AN-S copolymerization are shown in Table 8.5). However, the origin of the solvent effect in these cases is not clear. There have been various attempts to rationalize solvent effects on copolymerization by establishing correlations between radical reactivity and various solvent and monomer properties.71,72 97 99 None has been entirely successful. 

The primary aim of most studies on Lewis acid controlled copolymerization has been the elucidation of mechanism and only low conversion polymerizations are reported. Sherrington et al.m studied the high conversion synthesis of alternating MMA-S copolymers in the presence of Lewis acids on a preparative scale. Many Lewis acids were found lo give poor control (i.e. deviation from 50 50 composition) and were further complicated by side reactions including cross-linking. They found that the use of catalytic BCI- as the Lewis acid and photoinitiation gave best results. 

Equally important, the two comonomers were polymerized in parallel, with MMA consumption slightly faster, and the copolymer composition curve shows a shallow S-shaped profile, similar but not identical to those for the textbook examples of free radical MMA/styrene copolymerization. Thus, once again, the observation is consistent with some radical growth in the metal catalysis, and their difference from a conventional radical copolymerization is not deniable but not conclusive. 

Bamford and Basahel have investigated the importance of penultimate unit effects on the reactivity of /7-butanethiol in a number of copolymerizations (S-MMA, S-MA) using the technique of "moderated copolymerization". Their data indicate that penultimate unit effects are unimportant in these systems. More recently, de la Fuente and Madruga" " have come to similar conclusions for the reactivity of dodecanethiol in BA-MMA copolymerization. This contrasts with findings for transfer to carbon tetrabromide (Section 6.2.2.4). It has also been found, again in contrast with halocarbons, that C,r for various primary and secondary thiols is essentially independent of chain length for chain lengths > 2 (Table 6.1). 

The kinetics of copolymerization and the microstructure of copolymers can be markedly influenced by the addition of Lewis acids. In particular, Lewis acids are effective in enhancing the tendency towards alternation in copolymerization of donor-acceptor monomer pairs and can give dramatic enhancements in the rate of copolymerization and much higher molecular weights than are observed for similar conditions without the Lewis acid. Copolymerizations where the electron deficient monomer is an acrylic monomer e.g. AN, MA, MMA) and the electron rich monomer is S or a diene have been the most widely studied." Strictly alternating copolymers of MMA and S can be prepared in the presence of, for example, dictliylaluminum scsquichloridc. In the absence of Lewis acids, there is only a small tendency for alternation in MAA-S copolymerization terminal model reactivity ratios are ca 0.51 and 0.49 - Section 7.3.1.2.3. Lewis acids used include EtAlCT, Et.AlCL ElALCL, ZnCT, TiCU, BCl- LiC104 and SnCL. 

The MMA/S nitroxide-mediated copolymerization system was further studied on a theoretical basis using kinetic Monte Garlo simulations, under batch or forced-gradient conditions. The effect of the deactivation reaction on the segment length and length distribution was studied and it was conduded that the theory used for classical radical copolymerization does not always hold in GLRP. ... 

It was recently found that j3-PCPY can also be used as a radical initiator to obtain an alternate copolymer of MMA with styrene [35], which was only possible in the presence of Lewis acids [36,37] in the past. The kinetics of the system has been formulated as Rp a[/3-PCPY] a[MMA] (l/a[Styrene] The values of kp /k, and AE were evaluated as 1.43 x 10 L mol -s and 87 kJ/ mol, respectively, for the system. NMR spectroscopy was used to determine the structure composition and stereochemistry of copolymers. Radical copolymerization of AN with styrene [38] by using /3-PCPY as the initiator at 55-65°C also resulted in an alternate copolymer. Rp is a direct function of /3-PCPY and AN, and is inversely related to styrene. 

Various mechanisms have been proposed to explain the initiation processes. The self-initiated copolymerizations of the monomer pairs S-MMA and S-AN proceed at substantially faster rates than pure S polymerization. For S-AN333 and S-MAHJJ the mechanism of initiation was proposed to be analogous to that of S homopolymerization (Scheme 3.62) but with acrylonitrile acting as the dicnophile in the formation of the Diels-Alder adduct (Scheme 3.66). 

The use of l3C-labeled initiators in assessing the kinetics and efficiency of initiation2 14,32 60,84 requires that the polymer end groups, residual initiator, and various initiator-derived byproducts should each give rise to discrete signals in the NMR spectrum. So far this method has been demonstrated for homo- and copolymerizations of S and MMA prepared with AIBN-a-L C3 AIBMc-a-13C or HlKi-carbonyl- C/BVQ-rmg- C (1 1) as initiator. 

Copolymerizations of other monomers may also be subject to similar effects given sufficiently high reaction temperatures (at or near their ceiling temperatures - Section 4.5.1). The depropagation of methacrylate esters becomes measurable at temperatures >100 °C (Section 4.5.1).96 O Driseoll and Gasparro86 have reported on the copolymerization of MMA with S at 250 °C. 

Values of 0 required to fit the rate of copolymerization by the chemical control model were typically in the range 5-50 though values <1 are also known. In the case of S-MMA copolymerization, the model requires 0 to be in the range 5-14 depending on the monomer feed ratio. This "chemical control" model generally fell from favor wfith the recognition that chain diffusion should be the rate determining step in termination. 

Both S polymerization initiated by AlBMe176 180 (i.e. PS + 4) and MMA polymerization initiated by 1 J -azobis-l-phenylethane176 (i.e. PMMA + 1-phenylethyl radical) are reported lo give predominantly combination. Ito,7e has concluded that cross termination is not particularly favored over homotermination in S-MMA copolymerization. 

The effects of solvent on reactivity ratios and polymerization kinetics have been analyzed for many copolymerizations in terms of this theory.98 These include copolymerizations of S with MAH,"7 118 S with MAA,112 S with MMA,116 117 "9 121 S with HEMA,122 S with BA,123,124 S with AN,103415 125 S with MAN,112 S with AM,11" BA with MM A126,127 and tBA with HEMA.128 It must, however, be pointed out that while the experimental data for many systems are consistent with a bootstrap effect, it is usually not always necessary to invoke the bootstrap effect for data interpretation. Many authors have questioned the bootstrap effect and much effort has been put into finding evidence both for or against the theory.69 70 98 129 "0 If a bootstrap effect applies, then reactivity ratios cannot be determined by analysis of composition or sequence data in the normal manner discussed in Section 7.3.3. 

Most recent work is in accord with mechanism (b). In an effort to distinguish these mechanisms studies on model propagating species have been carried out.IS6 liW For S-MMA polymerization initiated by AIBMe- -13C (Scheme 8.13) it has been established by end group analysis that extremely small amounts of ethyl aluminum sesquichloride (<10 3M with 1.75 M monomers) are sufficient to cause a substantial enhancement in specificity for adding S in the initiation step. This result suggests that complexation of the propagating radical may be sufficient to induce alternating copolymerization but does not rule out other hypotheses. 

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