Complex formation in the polymerization of acrylonitrile with zinc chloride

In the polymerization of acrylonitrile carried out in the presence of zinc chloride, complexation was studied by semiempirical and nonempirical method s. It was shown that complexation with initial monomer involves one or two molecules of acrylonitrile and one or several molecules of zinc chloride. T he conformational analysis of poly(acrylonitrile) and a polymer synthesized from the acrylonitrile complex with zinc chloride was performed for model molecules. It was demonstrated that some conformations that are energetical ly unfavorable for poly(acrylonitrile) become more favorable upon inter- an d intramolecular complex formations.