Kinetics of crosslinking copolymerization of styrene with symmetric divinyl compounds

Abstract

AbstractGel formation usually occurs in crosslinking systems during polymerization. The critical conversion in this process is dependent on the reactivity ratios of the different kinds of double bond in the system and on the tendency to cyclization. In this article a procedure for estimating the gel point for small amounts of a symmetric divinyl compound is shown in measurements of the degree of polymerization at different conversions. A method is also given to relate the reactivity ratio of the pendent double bonds to the amount of cyclization and to the degree of multiple crosslinking. In m‐divinylbenzene/styrene the results indicate that about 10% of the pendent double bonds is consumed by cyclization due to backbiting of the primary chain, whereas an initial effective crosslink results in about seven multiple crosslink bonds.