STUDIES ON KINETICS OF BULK-POLYMERIZATION OF DIVINYL ESTER BY RADICAL-INITIATED THERMAL AND PHOTOPOLYMERIZATION

Di(2-hydroxy propane methacrylate) ester of adipic acid (DAP) was prepared by reacting adipic acid with glycidyl methacrylate using triphenyl phosphine as catalyst. The kinetics of bulk polymerization of the prepared compound using benzoyl peroxide as initiator were determined using isothermal differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The kinetic order of the reaction (order exponent n and autocatalytic exponent m) and apparent reaction rate constant (k) were determined. The kinetics of radical-initiated photo-polymerization of DAP were also studied by differential photocalorimetry (DPC), using benzophenone as initiator. The rate of reaction was found to be much higher in radical-initiated photo-polymerization than in radical-initiated thermal polymerization.