Solid-State Polymerization in Binary Component Systems at Low Temperature

Radiation-induced polymerization in binary component systems of acrylonitrile-methacrylonitrile and acrylonitrile-vinyl acetate was studied at −196°C. A mixture of two-component homopolymers was obtained from the acrylonitrile-methacrylonitrile system, which forms a eutectic mixture. When the mixture of acrylonitrile with vinyl acetate is cooled quickly from room temperature, a glassy state can be obtained. It was found that the copolymerization is possible in the glassy state at −196°C, and the monomer reactivity ratios were determined as r 1 = 6.0 and r 2 = 0.2 (M 1 = acrylonitrile), which coincides with the reported values on the radical copolymerization at room temperature.