In the polymerization of styrene catalyzed by acid, it is considered that styrene forms a conjugated acid, i. e., a carbonium ion, and reacts with it, growing to a polymer. In this paper, electronic spectra of styrene and some related compounds dissolved in sulfuric acid are shown. Carbonium ions give the absorption spectra which are quite different from those of original organic bases, and this shows that electronic states of the formers are clearly different from those of the tatters.Moreover, the carbonium ion of styrene monomer shows a different absorption spectrum from that of the ion of styrene dimer, owing to the hyper-conjugation effect of methyl radical in the former. Finally, energy level of carbonium ion is calculated by free electron model, and the result is compared with the experimental values, and discussion with regard to the acid catalyzed polymerization reaction of styrene is done.
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