Tromsdorff effect polymerization, autoacceleration

In view of Eq. (6.26) for ideal polymerization kinetics one would normally expect the reaction rate to fall with time, since the monomer and initiator concentrations decrease with conversion. However, the exact opposite behavior is observed in many polymerizations where the rate of polymerization increases with time. A typical example of this phenomenon is shown in Fig. 6.10 for the polymerization of methyl methacrylate in benzene solution at 50°C [49], At monomer concentrations less than about 40 wt% in this case, the rate (slope of conversion vs. time) is approximately as anticipated from the ideal kinetic scheme described in this chapter, that is, the rate decreases gradually as the reaction proceeds and the concentrations of monomer and initiator are depleted. An acceleration is observed, however, at higher monomer concentrations and the curve for the pure monomer shows a dramatic autoacceleration in the polymerization rate. Such behavior is referred to as the gel effect. (The term gel used here is different than the usage in Chapter 5 as it refers only to the sharp increase in viscosity and not to the formation of a cross-linked polymer.) The autoaccelerative gel effect is also known as the Tromsdorff effect or Norrish-Smith effect after pioneering workers in this field. It should be noted that the gel effect is observed under isothermal conditions. It should thus not be confused with the acceleration that would be observed if a polymerization reaction were carried out under nonisotherraal conditions such that the reaction temperature increased with conversion due to exothermicity of the reaction. 

Fig. 6-7 The Tromsdorff effect (autoacceleration) for polymethyl methacrylate polymerization [15].

As simple as this seems, some serious difficulties can be encountered, particularly in free-radical bulk polymerizations. One of them is illustrated in Figure 12.1 [1], which indicates the course of polymerization for methyl methacrylate by either bulk polymerization or solution polymerization using various concentrations of benzene, an inert solvent. The reactions were carefully maintained at constant temperature. At low polymer concentrations, the conversion versus, time curves are described by Equation 9.19. As polymer concentrations increase, however, a distinct acceleration of the rate of polymerization is observed which does not conform to the classical kinetic scheme. This phenomenon is known variously as autoacceleration, the gel effect, or the Tromsdorff effect. 

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