Journal of Polymer Science Part A: Polymer Chemistry, Vol.38, No.1, 170-178, 2000
Homopolymerization of methyl methacrylate and styrene: Determination of the chain-transfer constant from the mayo equation and the number distribution for n-dodecanethiol
Chain-transfer constants were evaluated for n-dodecanethiol in the homopolymerization of styrene (S) and methyl methacrylate (MMA). The polymerizations were carried out in benzene at 50 degrees C with different amounts of 2,2'-azobisisobutyronitrile as the initiator. The new chain length distribution (CLD) analytical method was used and compared to the traditional Mayo method. The chain-transfer-constant values were independent of the initiator concentration and slightly higher (by a factor of 1.1 for MMA and 1.2 for S) when obtained according to the CLD method compared to the Mayo method. The chain-transfer constant for S was 20 times higher than for MMA.