A General Model for the Kinetics of Self-Condensing Vinyl Polymerization

The kinetic model of the self-condensing vinyl polymerization (SCVP) with nonequal molar concentrations of stimulus and monomer was developed in this work. The molecular size distribution function and other molecular parameters of the resulting hyperbranched polymers were derived. The feed ratio of stimulus to monomer significantly affects the molecular parameters of the products. The residual monomer and inimer in the reaction system have an important influence on the molecular parameters of the hyperbranched polymers obtained even at a high double-bond conversion. Similarly to the SCVP with nonequal reactivities and self-condensing vinyl copolymerization, the maximum of the degree of branching is 0.5 for the SCVP with nonequal molar concentrations of stimulus and monomer. In other words, when the molar ratio of stimulus to monomer approaches 0.627 and the vinyl conversion reaches 1, we can get the hyperbranched polymers with the highest degree of branching.