Effect of impurities in vinyl chloride on the kinetics of its polymerization and on degradation of PVC

Abstract The effect of acetylene, butadiene, chloroprene, 2-chloropropene-1, and acetaldehyde on the kinetics of vinyl chloride polymerization, on the structure of chain defects formed, and on the thermal stability of PVC was investigated. The studied additions differ in the mechanism of their action in radical polymerization of vinyl chloride. Chloroprene and 2-chloropropene-1 show the most significant effect in lowering the thermal stability of PVC.