Copolymerization of acrylonitrile and methacrylate in an aqueous solution of sodium thiocyanate

Abstract

An investigation has been made of the kinetics and mechanism of the initial and later stages in the copolymerization of acrylonitrile and methylacrylate, initiated by ABIN or 4,4′-azo-bis-(4-cyanopentanol-1), in a 51·5% aqueous solution of sodium thiocyanate. The following have been determined; the effective activation energy for copolymerization; the order of the reaction with respect to the monomers, solvent and initiators; and the decomposition constants for the initiators in the reaction mixture investigated. The effect of the medium's pH on the copolymerization kinetics was studied.