Multiscale Modeling of Branch Length in Butyl Acrylate Solution Polymerization

Branch lengths resulting from both backbiting and intermolecular chain transfer to polymer are examined for the solution polymerization of butyl acrylate, using a rate-Equation model and ordinary differential equations. Backbiting is allowed to generate branches of varying length, according to a cumulative distribution function obtained from a lattice kinetic Monte Carlo simulation. About 8% of the branches produced by backbiting are 10 mers or longer. In contrast to common assumptions about the origins of short-chain and long-chain branches, the model indicates that nearly all of the long-chain branches may be produced by backbiting, rather than intermolecular chain transfer to polymer.