Investigations on the kinetics of copolymerization of vinyl acetate with acrylonitrile by Co(acac)3–Al(C2H5)3 catalyst system

Vinyl acetate and acrylonitrile were copolymerized with Co(acac)3‐Al(C2H5)3 catalyst system in benzene at 40°C. The rate of copolymerization is linearly proportional to monomer concentration and catalyst concentrations up to a certain value. The overall activation energy was found to be 11.3 kcal/mole. The effect of hydroquinone on the rate of copolymerization indicates the presence of free radicals in this system. The possibility of simultaneous formation of coordinate anionic and free radical active sites has been proposed.