Epoxy prepolymers cured with boron trifluoride‐amine complexes, 2. Polymerization mechanisms

The kinetics of the polymerization of phenoxymethyloxirane ( 6 ) initiated by the BF 3 complex of 4‐chloroaniline ( 7 ) solubilized in oligo(ethylene oxide) of molecular weight 300 (PEO) is characterized by an initial induction period, followed by a propagation step with a rate R p = k [ 6 ] · [ 7 ] 0,32 · [PEO] −0,55 . The length of the induction period decreases with [ 7 ] and increases with [PEO]. However, R p increases with [ 7 ] and decreases with [PEO]. The reaction can be explained by the activated monomer mechanism.