S. Beuermann, M. Buback, M. Gadermann, M. Jürgens, F. Günzler
Continuous styrene – methyl methacrylate – glycidyl methacrylate terpolymerizations in homogeneous mixtures with supercritical carbon dioxide
Macromol. Symp, 206, 229 - 239 (2004)


Free-radical terpolymerizations of styrene, methyl methacrylate, and glycidyl methacrylate were carried out in a tubular reactor in the presence of 20 wt.% CO2 at temperatures between 120 and 180°C and pressures of 300 and 350 bar. The number average molecular weights, MN, were mostly between 2000 and 3000 g·mol–1 and polydispersity indices around 2. In part of the experiments molecular weights were controlled by n-dodecyl mercaptan serving as the chain-transfer agent. PREDICI modeling indicates that the targeted molecular weights of MN~2500 g·mol–1 and polydispersities around 2 may also be reached by using an initiator cocktail, a mixture of two initiators with significantly different decomposition rate coefficients. The predictions are confirmed experimentally.