1970 Volume 27 Issue 304 Pages 544-548
Polymerization and copolymerization of methyl methacrylate with a PdCl2·H2O catalyst system were investigated in methanol and pyridine at 30°C and 50°C. It was found that water is necessary as a co-catalyst in the polymerization. The polymerization was not accelerated by addition of amines, protonic acid and dienes. Addition of butadiene to the polymerization system containing methyl methacrylate caused the formation of polybutadiene of low molecular weight alone and the polymerization of methyl methacrylate was inhibited. The presence of hydroquinone or p-quinone prevented the polymerization of methyl methacrylate. In the copolymerization of methyl methacrylate (m1) and acrylonitrile (m2), the monomer-copolymer composition curve was similar to that in a radical copolymerization and the monomer reactivity matios were calculated as r1=0.25 and r2=0.23. From the results obtained a radical polymerization mechanism was postulated.
