Kinetics of polymerization of vinyl monomers initiated Bt manganese (III) acetate. II

Abstract

The kinetics of the thermal polymerization of methyl acrylate (MA) and acrylamide (AAM) initiated by manganic ion in aqueous sulfuric acid medium has been studied. The rate of disappearance of [monomer] (R_p) was found to bear a square dependence on monomer and to be independent of [Mn²⁺] in the case of both the systems. R_p for acrylamide increased with the increase in [H⁺] but that for methyl acrylate remained almost constant. The degree of polymerization of the polymers (X_n) determined viscometrically was directly proportional to the [monomer] and inversely proportional to [Mn³⁺], for both systems. X_n increased with an increase in [H⁺] in the case of acrylamide and decreased in the case of methyl acrylate. Suitable reaction schemes to explain these experimentally observed facts have been proposed. Kinetic and thermodynamic parameters are also evaluated.