Theory of Plasma-Initiated Biradical Polymerization

Abstract

It is argued that substantial number of biradical polymers are formed by glow-discharging the vapour of vinyl monomers. When these biradical polymers enter into monomer liquid, ultrahigh polymers of molecular weight ∼10⁶ are formed within relatively short time and then these biradical polymers begin to degradate and multiply thus sustaining further polymerization. It is shown that the resulting average molecular weight increases as the conversion of monomers into polymers proceeds and reaches ∼10⁷ under normal conditions. Quantitative conclusions of the theory are in satisfactory agreement with the recent experimental data on the plasma-initiated polymerization.