Mechanism of alternating inter‐intramolecular propagation. II. General kinetics

The general kinetics of alternating inter‐intramolecular propagation are presented and discussed. The major factor which determines the microstructure of the polymer, the relative rates of the intramolecular and intermolecular reactions is examined. From the general kinetics methods are proposed for the determination of the ratio of rate constants for these reactions. A simple method utilizes the equation: [m1]/[M3] = 1 + (kc/k11)(1/[M1]0), where [m1] is the concentration of monomer units in the polymer, [M3] is the concentration of uncyclized units, [M1] is a parameter related to monomer concentration, kc is the rate constant for cyclization and k11 the rate constant for linear propagation. Other methods which may give information on the nature of the termination reaction are discussed.