Styrene dienes copolymerization

Monomer reactivity ratios and copolymer compositions in many anionic copolymerizations are altered by changes in the solvent or counterion. Table 6-12 shows data for styrene-isoprene copolymerization at 25°C by n-butyl lithium [Kelley and Tobolsky, 1959]. As in the case of cationic copolymerization, the effects of solvent and counterion cannot be considered independently of each other. For the tightly bound lithium counterion, there are large effects due to the solvent. In poor solvents the copolymer is rich in the less reactive (based on relative rates of homopolymerization) isoprene because isoprene is preferentially complexed by lithium ion. (The complexing of 1,3-dienes with lithium ion is discussed further in Sec. 8-6b). In good solvents preferential solvation by monomer is much less important and the inherent greater reactivity of styrene exerts itself. The quantitative effect of solvent on copolymer composition is less for the more loosely bound sodium counterion. 

Although this method yields a mixture of homopolymer and graft copolymer, and probably also ungrafted backbone polymer, some of the systems have commercial utility. These are high-impact polystyrene (HIPS) [styrene polymerized in the presence of poly(l,3-buta-diene)], ABS and MBS [styrene-acrylonitrile and methyl methacrylate-styrene, respectively, copolymerized in the presence of either poly(l,3-butadiene) or SBR] (Sec. 6-8a). 

The data in Table 2.15 illustrate the problems encountered in such copolymerizations, since the use of polar solvents to assure a random styrene-diene... 

The data in Table XV illustrate the problems encountered in such copolymerizations, since the use of polar solvents to assure a random styrene-diene copolymer of desired composition will, at the same time, lead to an increase in side vinyl groups (1,2 or 3,4) in the diene units (see Table XIV). This is of course quite undesirable, since such chain structures result in an increase in the glass transition temperature (Tg) and therefore to a loss of good rubbery properties. Hence, two methods are actually used to circumvent this problem (1) the use of limited amounts of polar additives such as tetrahydrofuran to... 

Styrene is copolymerized with butadiene to obtain SBR rubber and with acrylonitrile-butadiene to obtain ABS plastics. ABS is a relatively tougher thermoplastic compared to HIPS. The composition of the latter is typically 60% (yvlw) styrene, 25% acrylonitrile, and 15% buta-1,3-diene. 

The alkyllithium-initiated anionic copolymerization of diene and styrene monomers continues to be of interest because one can tailor-make copolymers with a wide range of compositional heterogeneity. Recently, kinetic studies have provided rate constant data to further clarify the factors responsible for the predominant incorporation of the less reactive diene monomer in styrene/diene copol3naerizations carried out in hydrocarbon media.They confirm that the magnitude of the rate constants for butadiene-styrene copolymerizations fall in the order results of several... 

Tapered Block Copolymers. The alkyllithium-initiated copolymerizations of styrene with dienes, especially isoprene and butadiene, have been extensively investigated and illustrate the important aspects of anionic copolymerization. As shown in Table 15, monomer reactivity ratios for dienes copolymerizing with styrene in hydrocarbon solution range from approximately 8 to 17, while the corresponding monomer reactivity ratios for styrene vary from 0.04 to 0.25. Thus, butadiene and isoprene are preferentially incorporated into the copolymer initially. This type of copolymer composition is described as either a tapered block copolymer or a graded block copolymer. The monomer sequence distribution can be described by the structures below ... 

Random Styrene-Diene Copolymers. Random copolymers of butadiene (SBR) or isoprene (SIR) with styrene can be prepared by addition of small amounts of ethers, amines, or alkali metal alkoxides with alkylhthium initiators. Random copolymers are characterized as having only small amounts of block styrene content. The amoimt of block styrene can be determined by ozonoly-sis or, more simply, by integration of the nmr region corresponding to block polystyrene segments (S = 6.5-6.94 ppm) (180). Monomers reactivity ratios of tb = 0.86 and rs = 0.91 have been reported for copolymerization of butadiene and styrene in the presence of 1 equiv of TMEDA ([TMEDAMRLi] = 1) (181). However, the random SBR produced in the presence of TMEDA will incorporate the butadiene predominantly as 1,2 imits. At 66°C, 50% 1,2-butadiene microstructure will be obtained for copolymerization in the presence of lequiv of TMEDA (134). In the presence of Lewis bases, the amounts of 1,2-polybutadiene enchainment decreases with increasing temperature. 

Copolymerization can be carried out with styrene, acetonitrile, vinyl chloride, methyl acrylate, vinylpyridines, 2-vinylfurans, and so forth. The addition of 2-substituted thiazoles to different dienes or mixtures of dienes with other vinyl compounds often increases the rate of polymeriza tion and improves the tensile strength and the rate of cure of the final polymers. This allows vulcanization at lower temperature, or with reduced amounts of accelerators and vulcanizing agents. 

AlkyUithium compounds are primarily used as initiators for polymerizations of styrenes and dienes (52). These initiators are too reactive for alkyl methacrylates and vinylpyridines. / -ButyUithium [109-72-8] is used commercially to initiate anionic homopolymerization and copolymerization of butadiene, isoprene, and styrene with linear and branched stmctures. Because of the high degree of association (hexameric), -butyIUthium-initiated polymerizations are often effected at elevated temperatures (>50° C) to increase the rate of initiation relative to propagation and thus to obtain polymers with narrower molecular weight distributions (53). Hydrocarbon solutions of this initiator are quite stable at room temperature for extended periods of time the rate of decomposition per month is 0.06% at 20°C (39). 

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). 

Sodium is a catalyst for many polymerizations the two most familiar are the polymerization of 1,2-butadiene (the Buna process) and the copolymerization of styrene—butadiene mixtures (the modified GRS process). The alfin catalysts, made from sodium, give extremely rapid or unusual polymerizations of some dienes and of styrene (qv) (133—137) (see Butadiene Elastomers, synthetic Styrene plastics). 

The copolymerization of styrene and the dienes in hydrocarbons was first investigated by Korotkov 43) who reported an unexpected phenomenon. The polymeriza-... 

We have considerable latitude when it comes to choosing the chemical composition of rubber toughened polystyrene. Suitable unsaturated rubbers include styrene-butadiene copolymers, cis 1,4 polybutadiene, and ethylene-propylene-diene copolymers. Acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene is a more complex type of block copolymer. It is made by swelling polybutadiene with styrene and acrylonitrile, then initiating copolymerization. This typically takes place in an emulsion polymerization process. 

In the low catalyst concentration range, polymerization rate is increased with increased amounts of catalyst however, the exact rate dependence on catalyst concentration has not been established. In general, the rate of copolymerization of butadiene with styrene is increased with increased polymerization temperature, increased Ba/Mg mole ratio, increased buta-diene/styrene comonomer feed ratio, and increased dielectric constant of the polymerization solvent. 

Monomers which can add to their own radicals are capable of copolymerizing with SO2 to give products of variable composition. These include styrene and ring-substituted styrenes (but not a-methylstyrene), vinyl acetate, vinyl bromide, vinyl chloride, and vinyl floride, acrylamide (but not N-substituted acrylamides) and allyl esters. Methyl methacrylate, acrylic acid, acrylates, and acrylonitrile do not copolymerize and in fact can be homopolymer-ized in SO2 as solvent. Dienes such as butadiene and 2-chloro-butadiene do copolymerize, and we will be concerned with the latter cortpound in this discussion. 

Terpolymerization, the simultaneous polymerization of three monomers, has become increasingly important from the commercial viewpoint. The improvements that are obtained by copolymerizing styrene with acrylonitrile or butadiene have been mentioned previously. The radical terpolymerization of styrene with acrylonitrile and butadiene increases even further the degree of variation in properties that can be built into the final product. Many other commercial uses of terpolymerization exist. In most of these the terpolymer has two of the monomers present in major amounts to obtain the gross properties desired, with the third monomer in a minor amount for modification of a special property. Thus the ethylene-propylene elastomers are terpolymerized with minor amounts of a diene in order to allow the product to be subsquently crosslinked. 

The first case is the copolymerization of monomer A with diene BB where all the double bonds (i.e., the A double bond and both B double bonds) have the same reactivity. Methyl methacrylate-ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDM), vinyl acetate-divinyl adipate (DVA), and styrene-p- or m-divinylbenzene (DVB) are examples of this type of copolymerization system [Landin and Macosko, 1988 Li et al., 1989 Storey, 1965 Ulbrich et al., 1977]. Since r = Yi, Fi = f and the extent of reaction p of A double bonds equals that of B double bonds. There are p[A] reacted A double bonds, p[B] reacted B double bonds, and p2[BB] reacted BB monomer units. [A] and [B] are the concentrations of A and B double bonds,... 

The stereochemistry of the 1,3-diene units in copolymerization is expected to be the same as in homopolymerization of 1,3-dienes. This expectation has been verified in styrene-1,3-butadiene copolymerizations at polymerization temperatures of —33 to 100°C [Binder, 1954],... 

Lithium diethylamide has been shown to be an effective initiator for the homopolymerization of dienes and styrene llr2). It is also known that such a polymerization process is markedly affected by the presence of polar compounds, such as ethers and amines (2,3). However, there has been no report of the use of a lithium amide containing a built-in polar modifier as a diene polymerization initiator. This paper describes the preparation and use of such an initiator, lithium morpholinide. A comparison between polymerization with this initiator and lithium diethyl amide, with and without polar modifiers, is included. Furthermore, we have examined the effects of lithium-nitrogen initiators on the copolymerization of butadiene and styrene. 

It has been emphasized in the copolymerization of styrene with butadiene or isoprene in hydrocarbon media, that the diene is preferentially incorporated. (7,9,10) The rate of copolymerization is initially slow, being comparable to the homopolymerization of the diene. After the diene is consumed, the rate increases to that of the homopolymerization of styrene. Analogously our current investigation of the copolymerization of butadiene with isoprene shows similar behavior. However, the... 

In a typical ABS mass polymerization process, styrene and acrylonitrile are copolymerized in the presence of a diene-based rubber. Initially, the rubber is dissolved in the monomers and a continuous homogeneous phase prevails. 

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