EFFECTS OF INITIATOR AND ZINC CHLORIDE ON THE COPOLYMERIZATION OF ACRYLONITRILE-STYRENE IN AN AQUEOUS MEDIUM IN THE PRESENCE OF CELLULOSIC MATERIALS

Abstract

Copolymerization of acrylonitrile (AN)-styrene (St) was carried out in an aqueous medium in the presence of cellulosic materials (cotton linter (C) or dialdehyde cellulose (H)) using ceric salt (Ce salt) or ammonium persulfate (APS) as initiator. The effects of initiator and zinc chloride on the conversion and the alternating tendency of copolymers obtained were examined.Copolymerization by ceric salt initiator: Total conversion and per cent grafting increased with the AN content in the feed in the presence and the absence of zinc chloride, and the total conversion was enhanced by the addition of cellulosic materials.The monomer reactivity ratios of copolymers were determined by the Fineman-Ross method. Alternating tendency of the ungrafted copolymers obtained in the presence of cellulosic materials, especially dialdehyde cellulose, is higher than that in the absence of cellulose. Alternating tendency of the grafted copolymers is higher than that of the ungrafted copolymers in the presence of zinc chloride.Copolymerization by ammonium persulfate initiator: Total conversion and per cent grafting increased in the presence of cellulosic materials, and decreased in the presence of zinc chloride.Alternating tendency of copolymers obtained in the absence of cellulosic materials using APS initiator is higher than that obtained in the presence of cellulose (H>C) using Ce salt. Presumably the alternating copolymer was obtained in the presence of such catalyst as APS irrespective of the formation of monomer-cellulose-water complexes.Graft copolvmerization onto cellulose derivatives IX.