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Free Radical Polymerization of Styrene and Methyl Methacrylate in Various Room Temperature Ionic Liquids

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OSTI ID:1003199

Conventional free radical polymerization of styrene and methyl methacrylate was carried out in various room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs). The RTILs used in this research encompass a wide range of cations and anions. Typical cations include imidazolium, phosphonium, pyridinium, and pyrrolidinium; typical anions include amide, borate, chloride, imide, phosphate, and phosphinate. Reactions are faster and polymers obtained usually have higher molecular weights when compared to polymerizations carried out in volatile organic solvents under the same conditions. This shows that rapid rates of polymerization and high molecular weights are general features of conventional radical polymerizations in RTILs. Attempts to correlate the polarities and viscosities of the RTILs with the polymerization behavior fail to yield discernible trends.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)
Sponsoring Organization:
SC USDOE - Office of Science (SC)
DOE Contract Number:
AC05-00OR22725
OSTI ID:
1003199
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English