Acrylonitrile polymerization initiated by Ce(IV)–cyclohexanone redox system in presence of surfactant

The rate of polymerization of acrylonitrile, using the Ce(IV)–cyclohexanone redox system as an initiator, was studied kinetically, in the presence of 0.015M sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), over a temperature range of 25–45°C. The rate of polymerization (R_P), percentage of monomer conversion, and rate of Ce(IV) consumption (?R_Ce) were found to increase with the concentration of SDS, above its CMC. The effect of [AN], [Ce(IV)], [H⁺], and the ionic strength were also studied. The overall activation energies for the polymerization processes were computed to be 23.14 and 17.64 kcal/mol in the absence and presence of 0.015M SDS. A suitable kinetic mechanistic scheme for the free‐radical mechanism was proposed. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 90: 2066–2072, 2003     

Effects of surfactants on acrylonitrile polymerization initiated by a Cr(VI)–cyclohexanone redox system: A kinetic study

The polymerization of acrylonitrile (AN) was kinetically studied with a Cr(VI)–cyclohexanone (CH) redox system as an initiator from 25 to 45° C in the presence of a surfactant. The rate of polymerization and the percentage of the monomer conversion increased as the concentration of the anionic surfactant [sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)] increased above its critical micelle concentration. However, the cationic surfactant (cetyltrimethylammonium bromide) reduced the rate considerably at higher concentrations, whereas the nonionic surfactant (TX‐100) had no effect on the rate. The effects of the Cr(VI), CH, AN, and H⁺ concentrations and the ionic strength on the rates were also examined. The presence of 0.015M SDS reduced the overall activation energy of the polymerization by 5.55 kcal/mol with respect to that in the absence of the surfactant. With increasing SDS concentration, the viscosity‐average molecular weight also increased. A suitable mechanistic scheme was proposed for the polymerization process. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 91: 1147–1153, 2004     

Synthesis of PMMA‐PTHF‐PMMA and PMMA‐PTHF‐PST linear and star block copolymers

Combination of cationic, redox free radical, and thermal free radical polymerizations was performed to obtain linear and star polytetramethylene oxide (poly‐THF)‐polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA)/polystyrene (PSt) multiblock copolymers. Cationic polymerization of THF was initiated by the mixture of AgSbF₆ and bis(4,4′ bromo‐methyl benzoyl) peroxide (BBP) or bis (3,5,3′,5′ dibromomethyl benzoyl) peroxide (BDBP) at 20°C to obtain linear and star poly‐THF initiators with M_w varying from 7,500 to 59,000 Da. Poly‐THF samples with hydroxyl ends were used in the methyl methacrylate (MMA) polymerization in the presence of Ce(IV) salt at 40°C to obtain poly(THF‐b‐MMA) block copolymers containing the peroxide group in the middle. Poly(MMA‐b‐THF) linear and star block copolymers having the peroxide group in the chain were used in the polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) and styrene (St) at 80°C to obtain PMMA‐b‐PTHF‐b‐PMMA and PMMA‐b‐PTHF‐b‐PSt linear and star multiblock copolymers. Polymers obtained were characterizated by GPC, FT‐IR, DSC, TGA, ¹H‐NMR, and ¹³C‐NMR techniques and the fractional precipitation method. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 93: 219–226, 2004     

Effects of the cosurfactant 1‐butanol and feed composition on nanoparticle properties produced by microemulsion copolymerization of styrene and methyl methacrylate

The concentration of the cosurfactant 1‐butanol (BuOH) determined the polymer weight and size for a series of poly(styrene‐co‐methyl methacrylate)s (P(St‐co‐MMA)) synthesized by the free‐radical (o/w) microemulsion technique. A factorial design established the levels of the experimental conditions for the polymerization i.e., concentration of the surfactant, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS); concentration of the cosurfactant, BuOH; temperature and ratio of the styrene (St) to methyl methacrylate (MMA). An increase in the weight‐average molecular weight (M_w) and number‐average molecular weight (M_n) was observed in the P(St‐co‐MMA) series with an increase in BuOH concentration from 1 to 5 wt %. These effects could arise from the micellar aggregation induced by interfacial BuOH. The unique micellar conditions could be exploited to synthesize copolymers of varying molecular weight and size. Additionally, the composition of the copolymers was virtually templates of the feed composition. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 2008     

Grafting onto wool fibers: Graft copolymerization of methyl methacrylate onto wool fibers initiated by KHSO5/Fe(III) couple

Graft copolymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) onto wool fibers has been carried out in an aqueous medium under deaerated condition initiated by potassium monopersulphate (KHSO₅/Fe(III) system, at varying concentration of the reactants and temperature. The effect of various salts and organic solvents on the extent of grafting has also been studied. Maximum graft percentage of 210.8% was obtained in 4 h at 40°C with the concentration of MMA (0.46 M), KHSO₅ (0.0195 M), Fe(III) (1.25 × 10^?4 M) in the presence of 50% formic acid. Various improved properties of the grafts have been studied and compared with the parent fiber.     

Kinetics of atom transfer radical polymerization of crosslinkable terpolymer P(MMA‐BA‐HEMA)

A crosslinkable terpolymer P(MMA‐BA‐HEMA) was prepared by atom transfer radical copolymerization of 2‐hydroxyethyl methacrylate, methyl methacrylate and butyl acrylate. The structure of the terpolymer was characterized by ¹H NMR and gel permeation chromatography. The effects on the polymerization of ligand, initiator, solvent, CuCl₂ added in the initial stage and reaction temperature were investigated. The optimal reaction conditions were ethyl 2‐bromopropionate as initiator, CuCl/PMDETA as catalyst, cyclohexanone as solvent, catalyst/ligand = 1:1.5, [M]₀:[I]₀ = 200:1 and temperature 70 °C. The reaction followed first‐order kinetics with respect to monomer concentration, indicating the best control over the polymerization process, a constant concentration of the propagating radical during the polymerization, efficient control over M_n of the polymer and low polydispersity (M_w/M_n < 1.3). © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry     

Reverse Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization of MMA Initiated by Triphenylmethane

Summary Triphenylmethane (TPM) was successfully employed for the reverse atom transfer radical polymerization (RATRP) of methyl methacrylate (MMA) in the presence of CuCl₂/pentamethyldiethylenetriamine (PMDETA). The conventional free radical polymerization (CFRP) of MMA was firstly carried out in the presence of TPM, proving that TPM can initiate the polymerization. The RARTP of MMA in cyclohexanone (CHO) exhibited the living/controlled characteristics: the first-order kinetics with respect to monomer, linear increase of number-average molecular weight (M_n) with conversion, narrow polydispersity index (PDI) (<1.4) and successful chain extension. The possible mechanism was also proposed.     

Influence of the comonomers (styrene and methyl acrylate) on the rate of photocrosslinking of 4‐{[‐3‐(4‐hydroxybenzylidene)‐2‐oxocyclohexylidene]methyl}‐ phenyl acrylate

[2,6‐Bis(4‐hydroxybenzylidene)cyclohexanone] (HBC) was prepared by reacting cyclohexanone and p‐hydroxybenzaldehyde in the presence of acid catalyst. Acrylated derivative of HBC, 4‐{[‐3‐(4‐hydroxybenzylidene)‐2‐oxocyclohexylidene]methyl}phenyl acrylate (HBA), was prepared by reacting HBC with acryloyl chloride in the presence of triethylamine. Copolymers of HBA with styrene (S) and methyl acrylate (MA) of different feed compositions were carried out by solution polymerization technique by using benzoyl peroxide (BPO) under nitrogen atmosphere. All monomers and polymers were characterized by using IR and NMR techniques. Reactivity ratios of the monomers present in the polymer chain were evolved by using Finnman–Ross (FR), Kelen–Tudos (KT), and extended Kelen–Tudos (ex‐KT) methods. Average values of reactivity were achieved by the following three methods: r₁ (S) = 2.36 ± 0.45 and r₂ (HBA) = 0.8 ± 0.31 for poly(S‐co‐HBA); r₁ = 1.62 ± 0.06 (MA); and r₂ = 0.12 ± 0.07 (HBA) for poly(MA‐co‐HBA). The photocrosslinking property of the polymers was done by using UV absorption spectroscopic technique. The rate of photocrosslinking was enhanced compared to that of the homopolymers, when the HBA was copolymerized with S and MA. Thermal stability and molecular weights (M_w and M_n) were determined for the polymer samples. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 92: 2494–2503, 2004     

Cobalt(III)‐mediated microemulsion polymerization of acrylonitrile: Kinetics and particle morphology

The catalytic effect of trans‐dichloro‐bis(ethylenediamine)cobalt(III) chloride (trans‐[Co(en)₂Cl₂]Cl) complex on the microemulsion polymerization of acrylonitrile, in the absence of added emulsifier, was investigated. Polymerization was studied at varying concentrations of initiator, monomer, complex, and solvent over the temperature range of 30–70°C. The overall activation energy (E_a, 39.26 kJ/mol), energy of dissociation of initiator (E_d, 61.62 kJ/mol), number of micelles (0.122 × 10¹⁸), and viscosity average molecular weight of the polymer were computed. The distribution of particle sizes was determined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). It was found that the oil‐in‐water microemulsion polymerization was stabilized by the presence of the Co(III) complex, reducing the particle size into the nano range. The average diameters of PAN nanoparticles, obtained by TEM, were in the range of 50–150 nm at maximum conversion. The experimental particle size was mainly dependent on the concentration of complex and temperature. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 91: 3120–3126, 2004     

Assessment of kinetics of photoinduced Fe‐based atom transfer radical polymerization under conditions using modeling approach

Kinetic insight into photoinduced Fe‐based atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) involving monomer‐mediated photoreduction was performed by modeling approach for the first time. Preliminary numerical analysis of number‐average molar mass (M_n) derivation in this specific system was given. Simulation results provided a full picture of reactant concentration and reaction rate throughout the entire polymerization. Methyl 2,3‐dibromoisobutyrate (MibBr₂) generated from methyl methacrylate (MMA)‐mediated photoreduction as the leading factor for the deviation of M_n from theoretical value was confirmed by reaction contributions in α‐bromophenylacetate (EBPA) containing system. Reasonable predictions were made with respect to the polymerizations under a variety of initial conditions. Results show that increasing light intensity will shorten transition period and increase steady state polymerization rate; decreasing catalyst loading will cause the decrease in polymerization rate and M_n deviation; varying initiation activity will slightly increase the time to attain steady state of dispersity (M_w/M_n) evolution and enormously change the fraction of reaction contributions; increasing targeted chain length will extend transition period, decrease steady state polymerization rate, increase M_n deviation degree with same reaction contributions, and decrease the time to attain the steady state of M_w/M_n. The numerical analysis presented in this work clearly demonstrates the unique ability of our modeling approach in describing the kinetics of photoinduced Fe‐based ATRP of MMA. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2017     

Synthesis of cyclohexanone formaldehyde resin‐methylmethacrylate block‐graft copolymers via ATRP

Well defined block‐graft copolymers of cyclohexanone‐formaldehyde resin (CFR) and methylmethacrylate (MMA) were prepared via atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). In the first step, cyclohexanone formaldehyde resin (CFR) containing hydroxyl groups were modified with 2‐bromopropionyl bromide. Resulting multifunctional macroinitiator was used in the ATRP of MMA using copper bromide (CuBr) and N,N,N′,N″,N″‐pentamethyl‐diethylenetriamine (PMDETA) as catalyst system at 90°C. The chemical composition and structure of the copolymers were characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H‐NMR) spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and molecular weight measurement. Molecular weight distributions of the CFR graft copolymers were measured by gel permeation chromatography (GPC). M_n values up to 19,000 associated with narrow molecular weight distributions (polydispersity index (PDI) < 1.6) were obtained with conversions up to 49%. Coating properties of synthesized graft copolymers such as adhesion and gloss values were measured. They exhibited good adhesion properties on Plexiglas substrate. The thermal behaviors of all polymers were conducted using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012     

Photo‐Induced atom transfer radical polymerization with nanosized α‐Fe2O3 as photoinitiator

Photo‐induced atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of methyl methacrylate (MMA) was achieved in poly(ethylene glycol)‐400 with nanosized α‐Fe₂O₃ as photoinitiator. Well‐defined poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) was synthesized in conjunction with ethyl 2‐bromoisobutyrate (EBiB) as ATRP initiator and FeCl₃·6H₂O/Triphenylphosphine (PPh₃) as complex catalyst. The photo‐induced polymerization of MMA proceeded in a controlled/living fashion. The polymerization followed first‐order kinetics. The obtained PMMA had moderately controlled number‐average molecular weights in accordance with the theoretical number‐average molecular weights, as well as narrow molecular weight distributions (M_w/M_n). In addition, the polymerization could be well controlled by periodic light‐on–off processes. The resulting PMMA was characterized by ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance and gel permeation chromatography. The brominated PMMA was used further as macroinitiator in the chain‐extension with MMA to verify the living nature of photo‐induced ATRP of MMA. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 42389.     

Unexpected effect of the monomer concentration on the rate of a radical polymerization

The radical polymerization of vinyl monomers is usually initiated by physical and chemical means. After an increasing polymerization rate, R_p, at low monomer concentrations, some reactive systems show an unexpected minimum for R_p at high enough monomer concentrations. The radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) initiated by the redox system D -glucose–ceric ion at varying MMA concentration is discussed. The peculiar behaviour of R_p is explained by the presence of two circumstances: the initiation rate from D -glucose radicals does not depend on MMA concentration when most of the D -glucose radicals formed react by adding to monomer, and the radical chains initiated by D -glucose radicals undergo mutual termination with a portion of the radical chains initiated by monomer radicals. Some information about the nature of the polymer end-groups is reached from the mechanistic approach.     

Atom transfer radical copolymerization of methyl methacrylate with N‐cyclohexylmaleimide

Atom transfer radical polymerization has been applied to simultaneously copolymerize methyl methacrylate (MMA) and N‐cyclohexylmaleimide (NCMI). Molecular weight behaviour and kinetic study on the copolymerization with the CuBr/bipyridine(bpy) catalyst system in anisole indicate that MMA/NCMI copolymerization behaves in a ‘living’ fashion. The influence of several factors, such as temperature, solvent, initiator and monomer ratio, on the copolymerization were investigated. Copolymerization of MMA and NCMI in the presence of CuBr/bpy using cyclohexanone as a solvent instead of anisole displayed poor control. The monomer reactivity ratios were evaluated as r_NCMI = 0.26 and r_MMA=1.35. The glass transition temperature of the resulting copolymer increases with increasing NCMI concentration. The thermal stability of plexiglass could be improved through copolymerization with NCMI. © 2000 Society of Chemical Industry     

Controlled radical polymerization catalyzed by CuCl/BDE complex in water medium. I. Polymerization of styrene and synthesis of poly(St‐b‐MMA)

The controlled radical polymerization of styrene in water medium, in the presence of polyoxyethylene nonyl phenyl ether, catalyzed and initiated by CuCl/BDE [bis(N,N′‐dimethylaminoethyl)ether]/R—X was studied. The results show that the molecular weight increased with conversion of the monomer. Using this controlled system, the block copolymer, poly(St‐b‐MMA), was successful synthesized in water medium. In reference to the system of CuCl/BDE/PhCH₂Cl, the polymerization may also occur in the micelle to produce a superhigh molecular mass (M_n = 1,500,000) polymer with monodispersion (MWD, M_w/M_n = 1.03). The Cu(I) and Cu(II) partition ratio in two phases, which may affect the reversible deactivation and debase the catalyst efficiency, was detected. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 75: 802–807, 2000     

Effect of organized anionic surfactant system on kinetics of polymerization of acrylonitrile initiated by Ce(IV): Citric acid and other organic substrates

The polymerization of acrylonitrile (AN) using the Ce(IV)–citric acid (CA) redox system as an initiator in aqueous nitric acid solution, in the presence of an anionic surfactant, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), has been kinetically studied at a temperature range of 25–45°C. The rate of polymerization (R_p) and disappearance of Ce(IV) (–R_ce) increase with increasing concentration of SDS, above its critical micelle concentration (cmc), when the surfactant molecules are organized. R_p was found to be proportional to [AN]^1.5 and [CA]^0.5. With other organic substrates, R_p follows the increasing order of sorbitol ≥ mannitol > glycerol > CA. But it was found to decrease considerably in the presence of cationic surfactant (CTAB), and nonionic surfactant (Triton-X-100) had no effect on the rate. –R_ce varies linearly with [Ce(IV)] and [CA]. Both R_p and –R_ce increase with increasing temperature. The overall activation energy was found to be 18.31 and 13.72 kcal/mol in the absence and presence of 0.015M SDS, respectively. The chain length of the polyacrylonitrile has also increased with increasing SDS concentration. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Iron‐mediated activators generated by electron transfer for atom‐transfer radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate using ionic liquid as ligand and Fe(0) wire as reducing agent

1‐Butyl‐3‐methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate (BMIMPF₆) as a typical ionic liquid (IL) effectively acted as ligand for the control of iron‐mediated activators generated by electron transfer for atom‐transfer radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) in the presence of a limited amount of oxygen, using FeCl₃.6H₂O as the catalyst and Fe(0) wire as the reducing agent. The polymers obtained with BMIMPF₆ had controlled molecular weights and low M_w/M_n values (<1.40). Moreover, a well‐defined final product PMMA without additional processing was easily obtained and the reducing agent (iron wire) could be recycled and reused effectively just by washing three times with solvents.     

The potential of Cu(I)Cl/2,2′‐bipyridine catalysis in a triblock copolymer preparation by atom transfer radical polymerization

The ability of atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) in the sequential synthesis of triblock copolymers was examined using Cu(I)Cl/2,2′‐bipyridine catalysis at 110°C in toluene, starting from PMMA macroinitiators terminated with the C‐Br group. The PMMAs were prepared by living anionic or group transfer polymerization (GTP), followed by bromination of the respective active site with Br₂ or N‐bromosuccinimide (NBS). The yield of the terminal bromination in the products of both living polymerizations was 60–64% at best, compared with the yield of the bromination of 1‐methoxy‐(1‐trimethylsilyloxy)prop‐1‐ene (a model of the GTP active site) with NBS, as found by ¹H‐NMR. The PMMA macroinitiators prepared were utilized to start the sequential ATRP, finally affording PMMA‐b‐PBuA‐b‐PSt (M_n 69,100), PMMA‐b‐PSt‐b‐PBuA (M_n 21,300) and PMMA‐b‐PSt‐b‐PMMA (M_n 35,200), which have not yet been synthesized by ATRP. After the second block has been formed, the Br‐unterminated part of PMMA macroinitiator was removed by extraction or repeated precipitation. In the third (last) sequence polymerization, induction periods were observed. The first two triblock copolymers were free of precursors and have M_w/M_n values 1.5–1.6 (SEC). In the course of the last step of PMMA‐b‐PSt‐b‐PMMA synthesis, the content of the PMMA‐b‐PSt precursor slowly decreased with increasing MMA conversion. Still, at ≈90% MMA conversion, about 10–15% of the precursor remained in the product. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 81: 3514–3522, 2001     

Trimethylsilyl‐substituted triazole‐based ligand for copper‐mediated single‐electron transfer living radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate

The tripodal ‘click’ compound tris(4‐trimethylsilylmethyl‐1,2,3‐triazolylmethyl)amine (TTTA) was prepared and investigated as a ligand for copper‐catalysed single‐electron transfer living radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA). Bulk polymerizations catalysed by Cu⁰/CuBr₂/TTTA with a molar ratio of [MMA]₀/[ethyl‐2‐bromoisobutyrate]₀/[CuBr₂]₀/[TTTA]₀ = 200:2:1:1 and a 1.0 × 1.0 cm² Cu⁰ sheet were fast and well controlled (76% conversion with M_w/M_n = 1.19 after 3.5 h). Greater amounts of added air generally gave slower polymerizations although M_w/M_n remained low (<1.3) even when the polymerization was carried out under aerobic conditions. Decreasing initial concentrations of the Cu⁰/CuBr₂/TTTA catalyst system or polymerization temperatures also resulted in slower polymerizations and yielded polymers with broader dispersity. Kinetic studies in the temperature range 40–90 °C revealed an apparent activation energy of 22.6 kJ mol^?1. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry     

Fe‐mediated SET‐LRP of MMA and St in the presence of air

In this work, well‐defined homopolymers of methyl methacrylate (PMMA) and styrene (PSt) were prepared via single‐electron‐transfer living radical polymerization using CCl₄ as initiator and Fe(0)/N, N, N′,N′‐tetramethyl‐1,2‐ethanediamine as catalyst. The polymerization was conducted at 25 °C in N,N‐dimethylformamide in the presence of air. It proceeded in a ‘living’ manner, as indicated by the first‐order kinetics behavior, and the linear increase of the number‐average molecular weight (M_{n, GPC}) with conversion was close to the theoretical M_{n, theory}. Solvent and additives have a profound effect on the polymerization. In addition, the PMMA and PSt obtained remained of low dispersity. The chain‐end functionality of the obtained homopolymer of PMMA was characterized by proton nuclear magnetic resonance. A block copolymer of P(MMA‐block‐St) was achieved by using the obtained PMMA as macroinitiator. The living characteristics were further demonstrated by chain extension experiments. Copyright © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry