STUDIES ON KINETICS OF THERMALLY INITIATED RADICAL POLYMERIZATION OF DIVINYL ESTER MONOMERS

The divinyl eater monomers were prepared by reacting glycidyl methacry late (GMA) with dioic acids (adipic acid, glutaric acid, succinic acid , malonic acid and oxalic acid). The reaction between the active epoxy groups of GMA and the carboxylic group of the dioic acid was catalyse d by triphenyl phosphine. The curing kinetics of divinyl ester monomer s were studied using benzoyl peroxide as a free radical initiator. The kinetic studies were made by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) using the isothermal method. An explanation for the difference in the kinetic parameters with different monomers is given. A shift in the ki netic model from autocatalytic to nth order was observed in all cases. A reaction mechanism for the radical polymerization is supported by a detailed mathematical derivation and experimental results.