Gas‐phase copolymerization of sulfur dioxide and butene‐1

Mixtures of sulphur dioxide and butene‐1 have been polymerized in the gas phase to the 1:1 alternating copolymer by electron irradiation. The rate of polymerization, measured by the decrease in gas pressure, decreased with increase in temperature over the range −20 to +30°C. The initial G(‐monomer) values decreased from 500 to 50 giving an Arrhenius activation energy of −30 kJ mol−1. These results are consistent with a ceiling temperature‐pressure relationship. The ceiling temperature is about 60°C lower than that observed previously in the liquid phase in accord with thermo‐dynamic prediction.