ACTIVITY OF THE FURFURYL RING IN THE FREE-RADICAL POLYMERIZATION OF ACRYLIC-MONOMERS

The effect and the participation of the furfuryl ring, in particular t he hydrogen at position C-5 in the free radical polymerization are ana lyzed following the polymerization of furfuryl acrylate (FA) and furfu ryl methacrylate (FM) initiated by AIBN under photochemical activation . The results obtained indicate that the polymerization of FA deviates from the classical free radical kinetic scheme, giving rise to crossl inked polymers even at a degree of conversion lower than 7%. This beha vior is well explained taking into consideration the participation of the furfuryl ring which acts as a degradative transfer agent. This was demonstrated by the kinetic analysis of the free radical polymerizati on of MMA initiated by the thermal decomposition of AIBN in the presen ce of different concentrations of furfuryl acetate. (C) 1996 John Wile y & Sons, Inc.