Copolymerization of styrene and methacrylates in the presence of catalytic chain transfer agents (CCTAs)‎

Abstract EN

The present paper focuses on the use of a Co(II) complex, [Co(afdo–H)2(BF2)2] as a catalytic chain transfer agent (CCTA) for controlling the molecular weight in co-polymerization of styrene (STY) with butyl methacrylate (BMA) and methyl methacrylate (MMA).

The catalyst is structurally similar to [Co(dmg–H)2(BF2)2] patented by Du Pont as a CCTA.

Average catalytic chain transfer constant, Cs of [Co(afdo–H)2(BF2)2] for copolymerization of STY with BMA and MMA determined from Mayo plot, was found to be in the range of 102–103.

This value is lower than the value reported for the [Co(dmg–H)2(BF2)2].

In the case of STY–BMA or STY–MMA copolymerization, a considerable reduction in the viscosity average molecular weights (MV) was observed in the copolymers.

The average molecular weight of poly(MMA–BMA) was reduced by a factor of ten compared to the reduction in poly(STY–MMA) and poly(STY–BMA) for the same concentration of the CCTA.