Aqueous polymerization initiated by hydrazine hydrate. Part I

Abstract

It has been shown that hydrazine hydrate initiates aqueous polymerization of methyl methacrylate in the presence of oxygen in alkaline pH. During the induction period oxygen is fixed as monomer peroxide, which at the end of induction period sets up a redox system with an unreacted hydrazine generating N₂H₃ radical. N₂H₃ radical is partly captured by monomer and partly oxidized by peroxide, depending upon the relative ratio of peroxide and monomer. This partitioning of the initiating N₂H₃ radical brings about interesting kinetic features to the study of which a detailed investigation has been devoted in this paper.