Radiation copolymerization of vinyl acetate with the diethyl esters of maleic and fumaric acids

Abstract

AbstractThe radiation‐induced copolymerization of vinyl acetate with diethyl maleate and with diethyl fumarate was investigated in the temperature range from −40 to 90°C over a wide range of comonomer compositions. Both the rates of copolymerization and the molecular weights of the resulting copolymers were found to depend strongly on the initial comonomer compositions. The apparent activation energy was found to change at 13°C with an increase in temperature from a value of 1.76 kcal/mole to a value of 4.31 kcal/mole in the copolymerization with diethyl maleate, while in the case of the copolymerization with diethyl fumarate the apparent activation energy changed at 21°C from a value of 1.76 kcal/mole to a value of 5.98 kcal/mole. Scavenger studies indicate that a free‐radical mechanism prevails over the entire temperature range investigated in the case of both copolymerizations.