Free Radical Polymerization Kinetics of Vinylsulfonic Acid and Highly Acidic Properties of its Polymer

✍ Scribed by Teruyuki Okayasu; Toshiyasu Hibino; Hiroyuki Nishide

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2011
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 230 KB
• Volume: 212
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1022-1352
• DOI: 10.1002/macp.201000773

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

Poly(vinylsulfonic acid) (PVS) possesses a high acid content (ion‐exchange capacity in the chemical formula = 9.2 meq · g^−1^). Its monomer, vinylsulfonic acid (VSA), had a high acid dissociation ability (Hammett acid function = 0.74 in water), and a high ionic conductivity (0.04–0.11 S · cm^−1^). The radical polymerization of VSA with various initiators was kinetically investigated. The ESR spectrum of the VSA polymerization mixture showed a strong signal ascribed to the propagation carbon radical of VSA. The molecular weight of PVS increased with the increasing monomer concentration and decreasing radical initiator concentration to yield the PVS with a molecular weight of 4.0 × 10^4^. Proton‐conductivity of PVS under hydrated and nonhumidified conditions was on the order of 10^−1^ and 10^−3^–10^−6^ S · cm^−1^, respectively. magnified image