Journal of Applied Polymer Science, Vol.64, No.1, 147-156, 1997
Modeling of Unsaturated Polyester Prepolymer Structures .2. Hydroxyl and Carboxyl Functionalities
Based on the structural model being derived in Part I, a statistics approach has been used to further estimate separately carboxyl and hydroxyl functionalities of unsaturated polyester (UP) prepolymers directly from their molecular parameters. This extended model shows satisfactory results when comparing with experimental results of hydroxyl functionality. The influence of molecular parameters, such as hydroxyl and carboxyl indexes, Ordelt saturation extent, and molecular mass polydispersity, on the carboxyl and hydroxyl functionalities is discussed. Examples showing the important impact of synthesis deviation on the hydroxyl and carboxyl functionalities, by model estimation, and, finally, on the SMC thickening are also discussed.