General features and specifics of the kinetics of the pseudoliving radical polymerization of 4-vinylpyridine and styrene mediated by TEMPO

Abstract

The kinetics of the pseudoliving radical polymerization of 4-vinylpyridine mediated by TEMPO is studied for the first time, and quantitative parameters characterizing the pseudoliving mechanism of the reaction, namely, the rate constant of reinitiation and the product of the equilibrium constant and the propagation-rate constant, are estimated. It is shown that the general kinetic features of the TEMPO-mediated polymerizations of 4-vinylpyridine and styrene (the pattern of kinetic curves and the zero reaction order with respect to the concentration of alkoxyamine) and the distinctive features of the polymerization of 4-vinylpyridine (an abnormally low rate and a high steady-state concentration of free TEMPO) are determined by three main factors: the rate of spontaneous initiation, the rate of self-termination of macroradicals, and the constant of equilibrium between active and dormant chains.