Anionic Polymerization of Styrene

A study of the kinetics of the initiation and propagation reactions in the polymerization of styrene by butyllithium in benzene solution has been made. The initiation has been shown to be first order in styrene and 0.155 order in butyllithium, the propagation to be first order in styrene and half order with respect to active chain ends. The apparent activation energies of the two reactions have been shown to be 18,000 calories and 14,300 calories respectively. The ultraviolet absorption spectra of colored species produced has been measured and compared with others found in similar systems.