Nitroxide-Mediated Free-Radical Polymerization of Styrene: Experimental and Theoretical Study

CECILIA SPIES; N. VELASQUEZ; G. ALVARADO; CARLA LUCIANI; DIANA ESTENOZ; HAYDÉE OLIVA; GREGORIO MEIRA

Simposio; Polymer Engineering Symposium, 8th World Congress of Chemical Engineering (WCCE8); 2009

École Polytechnique de Montréal

A bimolecular and nitroxide-mediated free-radical polymerization (NMRP) of styrene is theoretically and experimentally investigated. The reagents were styrene, 4- hydroxy-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-N-oxyl (OH-TEMPO) as nitroxide mediator, and benzoyl peroxide (BPO) as chemical initiator. The measurements included the monomer conversion and molecular weight distribution (MWD) of the generated polyalcoxyamine. A mathematical model was developed by extension of the model by Belicanta-Ximenes et al. (2007). It calculates the evolution of monomer conversion, and the MWDs of the 3 PS fractions (dormant, dead, and living). These model predictions are important for improving the recipe and reaction control for minimizing polydispersity and the fraction of dead polymer.