Polymerization of methyl methacrylate induced with the peracid‐type ion exchange resin

The polymerization of methyl methacrylate initiated with a peracid‐type resin was studied. The peracid‐type resin was prepared by the oxidation of cation‐exchange resin (Amberlite IRC‐50) with 60 wt‐% aqueous hydrogen peroxide in the presence of p‐toluenesulfonic acid. It was found that the peracid‐type resin was effective as an initiator for polymerization of methyl methacrylate. The kinetic investigation indicated that this polymerization proceeded by a radical mechanism, and the overall activation energy of polymerization was 15.8 kcal/mole. No effect of macromolecular catalyst on steric structure of the resulting polymer was observed. Some graft polymer was formed in bulk polymerization. On the other hand, only a homopolymer was obtained in solution polymerization. From the results obtained, a possible mechanism of initiation with the peracid‐type resin is proposed and discussed.