Mathematical Model for Vinyl‐Divinyl Polymerization

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A mathematical model for the crosslinking copolymerization of a vinyl and divinyl monomer was developed and applied to the case of methyl methacrylate and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate batch polymerization. Model results compare favorably to the experimental findings of Li and Hamielec 23 for the system investigated. The model presented utilizes the numerical fractionation technique 15 and is capable of predicting a broad range of distributional properties both for pre‐ and post‐gel operating conditions as well as polymer properties that were not experimentally determined from the experimental findings of Li and Hamielec, such as crosslink density and branching frequency. The effects of divinyl monomer fraction and chain transfer agent level on the polymer properties and the dynamics of gelation were also investigated. magnified image