Pascal Hesse

EPR Analysis of n-Butyl Acrylate Radical Polymerization.

Via electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy, concentrations of secondary propagating radicals (SPRs) and tertiary mid-chain radicals (MCRs) in n-butyl acrylate solution polymerization were measured. The EPR spectrum is dominated by the 4-line spectrum of SPRs at -50 °C and by the 7-line spectrum of MCRs at +70 °C. At intermediate temperatures, a third spectral component is seen, which is assigned to an MCR species with restricted rotational mobility. The MCR components are produced by 1,5-hydrogen shift (backbiting) of SPRs. The measured ratio of MCRs to SPRs allows for estimating the rate coefficient k pt for monomer addition to a mid-chain radical. For 70 °C, k pt is obtained to be 65.5 L · mol(-1)  · s(-1) .

Critically evaluated rate coefficients for free-radical polymerization. Part 6: Propagation rate coefficient of methacrylic acid in aqueous solution

Critically evaluated propagation rate coefficients, kp, for free-radical polymerization of methacrylic acid, MAA, in aqueous solution are presented. The underlying kp values are from two independent sources, which both used the IUPAC-recommended technique of pulsed-laser-initiated polymerization (PLP) in conjunction with molar mass distribution (MMD) analysis of the resulting polymer by size-exclusion chromatography (SEC). Different methods of measuring the MMD of the poly(MAA) samples have, however, been used: (i) direct analysis via aqueous-phase SEC and (ii) standard SEC with tetrahydrofuran as the eluent carried out on poly(methyl methacrylate) samples obtained by methylation of the poly(MAA) samples from PLP. Benchmark kp values for aqueous solutions containing 15 mass % MAA are presented for temperatures between 18 and 89 °C. The Arrhenius pre-exponential and activation energy of kp at 15 mass % MAA are 1.54 × 106 L mol-1 s-1 and 15.0 kJ mol-1, respectively. Also reported are critically evaluated kp values for 25 °C over the entire MAA concentration range from dilute aqueous solution to bulk polymerization.

Chain-Length-Dependent Termination in Acrylate Radical Polymerization Studied via Pulsed-Laser-Initiated RAFT Polymerization

The chain-length dependence of the termination rate coefficient, kt, in methyl acrylate (MA) and dodecyl acrylate (DA) radical polymerization has been determined via the single pulse pulsed-laser polymerization near-infrared reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer (SP-PLP-NIR-RAFT) technique. Polymerization is induced by a laser SP and the resulting decay in monomer concentration, cM, is monitored via NIR spectroscopy with a time resolution of microseconds. A RAFT agent ensures the correlation of radical chain length and monomer-to-polymer conversion. The obtained rate coefficients for termination of two radicals of approximately the same chain length, i, are represented by power-law expressions, kt(i,i) ∝ i–α. For both monomers, composite model behaviour of kt(i,i) showing two distinct chain length regimes is observed. The exponent αs referring to short chain lengths is close to unity, whereas the exponent αl, which characterizes the chain-length dependency of large radicals, is slightly above the theoretical value for coiled chain-end radicals. The crossover chain length, ic, which separates the two regions, decreases from MA (ic = 30) to DA (ic = 20). The results for MA and DA are consistent with earlier data reported for butyl acrylate. There appears to be a correlation of αs and ic with chain flexibility.