Polymerization of lactams, 92. Non-activated anionic polymerization of ϵ-caprolactam initiated with the sodium salt of ϵ-caprolactam

✍ Scribed by Jiří Havlice; Jiří Broz�ek; Monika Šáchová; Václava Nováková; Jan Roda

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1999
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 102 KB
• Volume: 200
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1022-1352
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1521-3935(19990501)200:5<1200::aid-macp1200>3.0.co;2-b

✦ Synopsis

The non-activated polymerization of e-caprolactam initiated with the sodium salt of e-caprolactam (CLNa), which was prepared in situ with sodium methoxide, was studied in the temperature range 170 -230 8C and at CLNa concentrations from 0.20 to 1.0 mol-%, and at 190 8C in the presence of 2.0 -10.0 mol-% CLNa. Apparent rate constants and values of apparent activation energy (E a ) were determined for the initial autoaccelerated stage of polymerization (E a = 230 kJ N mol -1 ) as well as for the stage characterized by a zero-order reaction with respect to the monomer (E a = 120 kJ N mol -1 ). Non-integral orders of the polyreaction with respect to the initiator indicate a highly complex polymerization mechanism. Degradation reactions accompany the polymerization at high polymer contents.