Study of the kinetics of styrene copolymerization with divinyl sulfide and the structure of macromolecules

The kinetics of the free-radical copolymerization of styrene with divinyl sulfide in the presence of N,N′-bis(vinyloxyethyl)thiuram disulfide as an iniferter has been studied. The rate of polymerization is shown to decrease with increasing iniferter concentration. The structure of the copolymers isolated in the course of copolymerization has been investigated by electron microscopy and compared with that of the copolymers synthesized using AIBN as an initiator. Evolution in the morphology of the polymer phase during the process, which consists in self-organization of the secondary supramolecular structure into spheroids with diameters of 0.1–10 μm, has been revealed. The stages of the formation of polymer particles of various structures are described by the scheme of morphogenesis.