Department of Chemical Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA
Abstract:
Viscosity rise and extent of reaction were followed during the step growth polymerization of linear and branched urethanes in bulk and in solution. Results indicate that intra-molecular reaction may exist in both linear and branched systems. Adding solvent increases the extent of intra-molecular reaction. The system viscosity was found to correlate with CgMw, where C is polymer concentration, g is the ratio of branched to linear polymer radii of gyration, and Mw is the weight-average molecular weight.