A kinetic study on the emulsion polymerization of vinyl chloride

The emulsion polymerization of vinyl chloride has been studied in presence of several emulsifiers and using persulfate or the redox system persulfate‐bisulfite as initiators. Experiments have been run at different concentrations of emulsifier and catalyst: the reaction order with regard to K2S2O8 lies between 0.6 and 0.7. Concentrations of emulsifier higher than critical micelle concentration (CMC) do not show to have a marked effect on the reaction velocity. Measurements with the electronic microscope on the latices have shown that the particles number in the latex remains constant during polymerization after a conversion of 6–7% has been reached. Niether does it depend on the catalyst concentration, but it increases with the emulsifier concentration. We then desume that he emulsion polymerization of vinyl chloride does not agree with SMITH' theory. We suggest a reaction scheme that is, at least qualitatively, in agreement with our results.