Template photopolymerization of methacrylic acid in water—IV. Determination of rate constants of elementary processes

Abstract

Initiation rate for the polymerization of methacrylic acid in water, in the absence and in the presence of polyvinylpyrrolidone as a template, have been determined by the inhibition method. A water-soluble inhibitor (2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-4-hydroxy-piperidine-l-oxyl) was used. The rate constants for template propagation ( k p) and termination ( k t) were calculated and compared with the corresponding constants for non-template polymerization. It was found that k p and k t in the template polymerization are lower by several orders of magnitude that those in the polymerization without template. The mechanisms of elementary processes of the template polymerization are discussed.