Mechanism of the copolymerization of styrene with methyl, ethyl, and n‐butyl acrylates in the presence of zinc chloride

Abstract

The complexes of methyl acrylate (MA), ethyl acrylate (EA) and n‐butyl acrylate (BA) with zinc chloride (ZnCl2) were prepared at 300 K and found to be polar in nature. The viscosity and density of the complexes increased while the tendency to form a binary complex decreased with increase in size of the alkyl substituents of the acrylate monomers. The copolymerization of MA and BA with styrene (Sty) followed a cross‐propagation mechanism, whereas the copolymerization of EA with Sty followed a radical‐complex mechanism in the presence of their complexes with ZnCl2.