Decomposition Rates of t-Butyl 2-Ethylperoxyhexanoate and Its Performance as a Poly m erization Initiator

Abstract

Although t-butyl 2-ethylperoxyhexanoate has been used industrially as an initiator for vinyl polymerizations because of its low risk of explosion, the decomposition rate and its reactivity toward vinyl monomers have not been reported so far.
The rate constants of the first order decomposition were dete rmined in 16 solvents at 60°C. These values increased with an increase in the solvent polarity. The overall rates and the initiation rates of vinyl polymerizations were determined at 60°C. For the polymerization of styrene, the both rates were almost the same as those obtained by the experiment using benzoyl peroxide.