SUMMARYPulsed-laser polymerization (PLP) in conjugation with molecular weight distribution (MWD) measurement has emerged as the method of choice for determining the propagation rate coefficient k, in free-radical polymerizations. Detailed guidelines for using this technique (including essential internal consistency checks) and reporting the results therefrom are given by the authors, members of the IUPAC Working Party on Modeling of kinetics and processes of polymerization. The results for PLP-MWD k, measurements from many laboratories for bulk free-radical polymerization of styrene at low conversions and ambient pressure are collated, and are in excellent agreement. They are therefore recommended as constituting a benchmark data set, one that is best fitted by (the confidence ellipsoid for the Arrhenius parameters is also given). These benchmark data are also used to evaluate the merits of several other methods for determining k,; it is found that appropriately calibrated electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy appears to yield reliable values of k, for styrene.

(1997). Critically evaluated rate coefficients for free-radical polymerization, 2. Propagation rate coefficients for methyl methacrylate. Macromolecular Chemistry and Physics, 198(5), 1545-1560. DOI: 10.1002/macp.1997 General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights.• Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research.• You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal ? Take down policyIf you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. SUMMARYPulsed-laser polymerization (PLP) in conjunction with molar mass distribution (MMD) measurement is the method of choice for determining the propagation rate coefficient kp in free-radical polymerizations. The authors, members of the IUPAC Working Party on Modeling of kinetics and processes of polymerization, collate results from using PLP-MMD to determine kp as a function of temperature T for bulk free-radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate at low conversions and ambient pressure. Despite coming from several different laboratories, the values of $ are in excellent agreement and obey consistency checks. These values are therefore recommended as constituting a benchmark data set, one that is best fitted by The 95% joint confidence interval for these Arrhenius parameters is also given. In so doing, we describe the most appropriate statistical methods for fitting k&") data and then obtaining a joint confidence interval for the fitted Arrhenius parameters. As well, we outline factors which impose slight limitations on the accuracy of the PLP-MMD technique for determining $, factors which may apply even when this technique is functioning well. At the same time we discuss how such systematic errors in kp can be minimized.

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Literature data are summarized for the chain‐length‐dependence of the termination rate coefficient in dilute solution free‐radical polymerizations. In essence such experiments have yielded two parameter values: the rate coefficient for termination between monomeric free radicals, k, and a power‐law exponent e quantifying how kt values decrease with increasing chain length. All indications are that the value e ≈ 0.16 in good solvent is accurate, however the values of k which have been deduced are considerably lower than well‐established values for small molecule radicals. This seeming impasse is resolved by putting forward a ‘composite’ model of termination: it is proposed that the value e ≈ 0.16 holds only for long chains, with e being higher for small chains – the value 0.5 is used in this paper, although it is not held to dogmatically. It is then investigated whether this model is consistent with experimental data. This is a non‐trivial task, because although the experiments themselves and the ways in which they are analyzed are elegant and not too complicated, the underlying theory is sophisticated, as is outlined. Simulations of steady‐state polymerization experiments are first of all carried out, and it is shown that the composite model of termination both recovers the e values which have been found and beautifully explains why these experiments considerably underestimate the true value of k. Simulations of pulsed‐laser polymerizations find the same, although not quite so strikingly. It is therefore concluded that our new termination model, which retains the virtue of simplicity and in which all parameter values are physically reasonable, is consistent with experimental data. Taking a wider view, it seems likely that the situation of the exponent e varying with chain length will not just be the case in dilute solution, but will be the norm for all conditions, which would give our model and our work a general relevance.Normalized chain length distributions from PLP simulations.imageNormalized chain length distributions from PLP simulations.

This is the first publication of an IUPAC‐sponsored Task Group on “Critically evaluated termination rate coefficients for free‐radical polymerization.” The paper summarizes the current situation with regard to the reliability of values of termination rate coefficients kt. It begins by illustrating the stark reality that there is large and unacceptable scatter in literature values of kt, and it is pointed out that some reasons for this are relatively easily remedied. However, the major reason for this situation is the inherent complexity of the phenomenon of termination in free‐radical polymerization. It is our impression that this complexity is only incompletely grasped by many workers in the field, and a consequence of this tendency to oversimplify is that misunderstanding of and disagreement about termination are rampant. Therefore this paper presents a full discussion of the intricacies of kt: sections deal with diffusion control, conversion dependence, chain‐length dependence, steady state and non‐steady state measurements, activation energies and activation volumes, combination and disproportionation, and theories. All the presented concepts are developed from first principles, and only rigorous, fully‐documented experimental results and theoretical investigations are cited as evidence. For this reason it can be said that this paper summarizes all that we, as a cross‐section of workers in the field, agree on about termination in free‐radical polymerization. Our discussion naturally leads to a series of recommendations regarding measurement of kt and reaching a more satisfactory understanding of this very important rate coefficient. Variation of termination rate coefficient kt with inverse absolute temperature T−1 for bulk polymerization of methyl methacrylate at ambient pressure.[6] The plot contains all tabulated values[6] (including those categorized as “recalculated”) except ones from polymerizations noted as involving solvent or above‐ambient pressures.magnified imageVariation of termination rate coefficient kt with inverse absolute temperature T−1 for bulk polymerization of methyl methacrylate at ambient pressure.[6] The plot contains all tabulated values[6] (including those categorized as “recalculated”) except ones from polymerizations noted as involving solvent or above‐ambient pressures.

Pulsed‐laser polymerization (PLP) in conjunction with the analysis of the molecular weight distribution (MWD) via size‐exclusion chromatography (SEC) remains recommended by the IUPAC Working Party on Modeling of polymerisation kinetics and processes as the method of choice for the determination of propagation rate coefficients, kp, in free‐radical polymerization. kp data from PLP‐SEC studies in several laboratories for ethyl methacrylate (EMA), butyl methacrylate (BMA) and dodecyl methacrylate (DMA) bulk free‐radical polymerizations at low conversion and ambient pressure are collected. The data fulfill consistency criteria and the agreement among the data is remarkable. These values are therefore recommended as constituting benchmark data sets for each monomer. The results are best fit by the following Arrhenius relations: For the methacrylates under investigation kp increases with the size of the ester group. For example, in going from MMA to DMA, kp at 50°C is enhanced by a factor of 1.5.

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Propagation rate coefficient (k p) data for radical polymerization of methyl acrylate (MA) in the bulk are critically evaluated and a benchmark dataset is put forward by a task-group of the IUPAC Subcommittee on Modeling of Polymerization Kinetics and Processes. This dataset comprises previously published results from three laboratories as well as new data from a fourth laboratory. Not only do all these values of k p fulfill the recommended consistency checks for reliability, they are also all in excellent agreement with each other. Data have been obtained employing the technique of pulsed-laser polymerization (PLP) coupled with molar-mass determination by size-exclusion chromatography (SEC), where PLP has been carried out at pulse-repetition rates of up to 500 Hz, enabling reliable k p to be obtained through to 60 C. The best-fitand therefore recommended-Arrhenius parameters are activation energy E A ¼ 17.3 kJ mol À1 and pre-exponential (frequency) factor A ¼ 1.41 Â 10 7 L mol À1 s À1. These hold for secondary-radical propagation of MA, and may be used to calculate effective propagation rate coefficients for MA in situations where there is a significant population of mid-chain radicals resulting from backbiting, as will be the case at technically relevant temperatures. The benchmark dataset reveals that k p values for MA obtained using PLP in conjunction with MALDI-ToF mass spectrometry are accurate. They also confirm, through comparison with previously obtained benchmark k p values for n-butyl acrylate, methyl methacrylate and n-butyl methacrylate, that there seems to be identical familytype behavior in n-alkyl acrylates as in n-alkyl methacrylates. Specifically, k p for the n-butyl member of each family is about 20% higher than for the corresponding methyl member, an effect that appears to be entropic in origin. Furthermore, each family is characterized by an approximately constant E A , where the value is 5 kJ mol À1 lower for acrylates.