Kinetics of radical polymerization,LIII. The absolute rate constants in the radical polymerization of ethyl acrylate

The dependence of dilution on the chain propagation and termination rate constants was investigated in the polymerization of ethyl acrylate in benzene solution at 50°C, with the rotating sector method. The errors of the above rate constants were determined and, by our method applied to decrease these errors, the errors of the propagation rate constant was reduced to its half value. By the application of our earlier results in polymerization kinetics, we found that in this system the chain propagation step is exclusively responsible for the solvent effects observed. Our experimental results can be quantitatively described in terms of the hot redical theory.