Polymer radicals macroradicals

As the polymerization reaction proceeds, scosity of the system increases, retarding the translational and/ or segmental diffusion of propagating polymer radicals. Bimolecular termination reactions subsequently become diffusion controlled. A reduction in termination results in an increase in free radical population, thus providing more sites for monomer incorporation. The gel effect is assumed not to affect the propagation rate constant since a macroradical can continue to react with the smaller, more mobile monomer molecule. Thus, an increase in the overall rate of polymerization and average degree of polymerization results. 

Transfer of a hydrogen can occureither from the monomer to a propagating macroradical [reaction (6-79)] or in the reverse direction [reaction (6-80)]. In either case, the active site is transferred to the monomer, and the growth of the polymer radical is terminated. 

Monomer pairs, one electron rich, the other electron poor, have been shown to form (CTC) s. Typical CTC s are formed from styrene and maleic anhydride and styrene and acrylonitrile in the presence of Lewis acids (23-25). These CTC s are known to rapidly polymerize in the presence of free radical initiators to form copolymers with a high degree of alternation (26,27). If the copolymerization is conducted in a poor solvent for the polymer, occluded macroradicals will be produced. 

It was found that the metal tear to the dynamical contact with the polymers is diminished in the oxygen presence than in argon atmosphere, even if the peroxy macroradicals are active with respect to metallic surfaces. Probably in the competition of the chemical events occurring there, the oxygen succeeds to protect in a way the metal surface, by increasing its stability against to the polymer radicals. 

Low oxygen concentration In this case, termination occurs almost exclusively by the recombination of macroradicals (P ) (equation 2.133). Under these conditions, the concentration of polymer radicals (P ), particularly in the terminating stages of the reaction, is far in excess of the polymer peroxy radicals (POO ). It follows from equation 2.133 that ... 

Well before the advent of modern analytical instruments, it was demonstrated by chemical techniques that shear-induced polymer degradation occurred by homoly-tic bond scission. The presence of free radicals was detected photometrically after chemical reaction with a strong UV-absorbing radical scavenger like DPPH, or by analysis of the stable products formed from subsequent reactions of the generated radicals. The apparition of time-resolved ESR spectroscopy in the 1950s permitted identification of the structure of the macroradicals and elucidation of the kinetics and mechanisms of its formation and decay [15]. 

Recombination reactions between two different macroradicals are readily observable in the condensed state where molecular mobility is restricted and the concentration of radicals is high. Its role in flow-induced degradation is probably negligible at the polymer concentration normally used in these experiments (< 100 ppm), the rate of radical formation is extremely small and the radicals are immediately separated by the velocity gradient at the very moment of their formation. Thus there is no cage effect, which otherwise could enhance the recombination efficiency. 

At the initial stage of bulk copolymerization the reaction system represents the diluted solution of macromolecules in monomers. Every radical here is an individual microreactor with boundaries permeable to monomer molecules, whose concentrations in this microreactor are governed by the thermodynamic equilibrium whereas the polymer chain propagation is kinetically controlled. The evolution of the composition of a macroradical X under the increase of its length Z is described by the set of equations ... 

The mechanoradical produced will react with the small amount of oxygen to form hydroperoxides these are subsequently utilised as radical generators in the second stage. The resulting hydroxyl radical (from hydroperoxide decomposition) abstracts a hydrogen from the substrate to form macroradical which, in turn, will react with more of the thiyl radical to form more bound antioxidant. The polymer bound antioxidant made in this way is very much more resistant to solvent leaching and volatilisation when compared to commercial additives (13). see Figure 2. 

This assumption is implicitly present not only in the traditional theory of the free-radical copolymerization [41,43,44], but in its subsequent extensions based on more complicated models than the ideal one. The best known are two types of such models. To the first of them the models belong wherein the reactivity of the active center of a macroradical is controlled not only by the type of its ultimate unit but also by the types of penultimate [45] and even penpenultimate [46] monomeric units. The kinetic models of the second type describe systems in which the formation of complexes occurs between the components of a reaction system that results in the alteration of their reactivity [47-50]. Essentially, all the refinements of the theory of radical copolymerization connected with the models mentioned above are used to reduce exclusively to a more sophisticated account of the kinetics and mechanism of a macroradical propagation, leaving out of consideration accompanying physical factors. The most important among them is the phenomenon of preferential sorption of monomers to the active center of a growing polymer chain. A quantitative theory taking into consideration this physical factor was advanced in paper [51]. 

The kinetic study of POOH decay in an inert atmosphere in the presence of another initiator (I). The initiator increases the concentration of macroradicals in the polymer media. If free radicals react with hydroperoxyl groups, one observes the acceleration of POOH decay. The rate of POOH decay in the case of induced decomposition obeys the equation... 

Compelling evidence suggesting that the breakdown of hydroperoxyl groups is not related to polymer destruction, at least in the initial period of oxidation at temperatures below 400 K, comes from experiments on the initiated oxidation of polymers. It was found that the destruction of polymers develops in parallel with their oxidation from the very onset of the process, but not after a delay related to the accumulation of a sufficient amount of hydroperoxyl groups [129]. These experiments also demonstrated that it is free macroradicals that undergo destruction. Oxidation of polymers gives rise to alkyl, alkoxyl, and peroxyl macroradicals. Which radicals undergo destruction can be decided based on the kinetics of initiated destructive oxidation. 

Acceptors of alkyl radicals showed their antioxidant activity in solid polymers where dioxygen reacts relatively slowly with macroradicals (see Chapters 13 and 19). 

Acceptors of alkyl radicals are known to be very weak inhibitors of liquid-phase hydrocarbon oxidation because they compete with dioxygen, which reacts very rapidly with alkyl radicals. The situation dramatically changes in polymers where an alkyl radical acceptor effectively terminates the chains [3,49], The study of the inhibiting action of p-benzoquinone [50], nitroxyl radicals [51-53], and nitro compounds [54] in oxidizing PP showed that these alkyl radical acceptors effectively retard the oxidation of the solid polymer at concentrations ( 10-3 mol L 1) at which they have no retarding effect on liquid hydrocarbon oxidation. It was proved from experiments on initiated PP oxidation at different p02 that these inhibitors terminate chains by the reaction with alkyl macroradicals. The general scheme of such inhibitors action on chain oxidation includes the following steps ... 

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