On the Discrimination of RAFT Models Using Miniemulsion Polymerization

Abstract

In RAFT miniemulsion polymerization, the slow fragmentation (SF) model reveals essentially the same polymerization rate as the corresponding bulk polymerization, while the intermediate termination (IT) model shows a drastic rate increase in a wide droplet size range, and thereby, two controversial models for the RAFT mechanism can be discriminated without difficulty. The theoretical background why the SF model does not show acceleration in miniemulsion polymerization is discussed. A simple equation to check the inability of rate acceleration for a given set of SF parameters, without resorting to simulation, is also proposed.