Aqueous Polymerization of Methyl Methacrylate Initiated by Ce⁴⁺-Glycolic Acid Redox System

Abstract

Abstract The aqueous heterogeneous polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) initiated by the Ce4+-glycolic acid (GA) redox system was studied at 35 × 0.2°C under a nitrogen atmosphere. The rate of monomer disappearance was proportional to [MMA]1[GA]1[Ce4+]°, and the rate of eerie ion disappearance was found to be directly proportional to [Ce4+] and [GA] but independent of [MMA]. The activation energy was found to be 34 kJ/mol. The molecular weight of polymethyl methacrylate increased with increasing [MMA] and decreased with increasing [oxidant]. The effect of increasing [H2SO4] on polymerization was also studied. The results are compared with those obtained for the aqueous homogeneous polymerization of acrylamide with the same redox pair.