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University of Groningen New aspects of the suspension polymerization of vinyl chloride in relation to the low thermal stability of poly(vinyl chloride) Pauwels, Kim Francesca Daniëla IMPORTANT NOTE: You are advised to consult the publisher's version (publisher's PDF) if you wish to cite from it. Please check the document version below. Document Version Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Publication date: 2004 Link to publication in University of Groningen/UMCG research database Citation for published version (APA): Pauwels, K. F. D. (2004). New aspects of the suspension polymerization of vinyl chloride in relation to the low thermal stability of poly(vinyl chloride). s.n. Copyright Other than for strictly personal use, it is not permitted to download or to forward/distribute the text or part of it without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), unless the work is under an open content license (like Creative Commons). Take-down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Downloaded from the University of Groningen/UMCG research database (Pure): http://www.rug.nl/research/portal. For technical reasons the number of authors shown on this cover page is limited to 10 maximum. Download date: 07-04-2021

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  • University of Groningen

    New aspects of the suspension polymerization of vinyl chloride in relation to the low thermalstability of poly(vinyl chloride)Pauwels, Kim Francesca Daniëla

    IMPORTANT NOTE: You are advised to consult the publisher's version (publisher's PDF) if you wish to cite fromit. Please check the document version below.

    Document VersionPublisher's PDF, also known as Version of record

    Publication date:2004

    Link to publication in University of Groningen/UMCG research database

    Citation for published version (APA):Pauwels, K. F. D. (2004). New aspects of the suspension polymerization of vinyl chloride in relation to thelow thermal stability of poly(vinyl chloride). s.n.

    CopyrightOther than for strictly personal use, it is not permitted to download or to forward/distribute the text or part of it without the consent of theauthor(s) and/or copyright holder(s), unless the work is under an open content license (like Creative Commons).

    Take-down policyIf you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediatelyand investigate your claim.

    Downloaded from the University of Groningen/UMCG research database (Pure): http://www.rug.nl/research/portal. For technical reasons thenumber of authors shown on this cover page is limited to 10 maximum.

    Download date: 07-04-2021

    https://research.rug.nl/en/publications/new-aspects-of-the-suspension-polymerization-of-vinyl-chloride-in-relation-to-the-low-thermal-stability-of-polyvinyl-chloride(998010d7-2405-4382-ad55-b9ef3b1c37bf).html

  • 139

    CHAPTER 6

    The suspension polymerization of vinyl chloride

    in the presence of a solvent for PVC

    Abstract

    An attempt was made to modify the course of the polymerization reaction by changing the

    composition of the polymer-rich phase. The addition of o-dichlorobenzene, which is a solvent for

    both PVC and VCM, results in a more swollen and thus less dense polymer-rich phase. As a

    result, the dynamics of the growing polymer chains increases and the appearance of the hot spot

    diminishes with an increasing amount of o-dichlorobenzene, until it is completely disappeared

    with the addition of at least 10 wt % of o-dichlorobenzene. Simultaneously the porosity of the

    PVC grains decreases significantly.

    The presence of o-dichlorobenzene clearly affects the formation of 2,4-dichloro-n-butyl and

    chloromethyl branches. Especially at very high monomer conversions, exceeding 85%, the

    number of these defects does not increase as dramatically as in case of the regular suspension

    polymerization of VCM. In addition to this, the thermal stability for PVC produced with very high

    monomer conversions in the presence of o-dichlorobenzene is also improved. Apparently, the

    intramolecular side reactions, which cause the formation of these types of defects, are hampered

    probably as a result of CH-π- interactions between the growing macroradical and VCM or o-

    dichlorobenzene. At these very high monomer conversions, o-dichlorobenzene probably replaces

    VCM whose concentration has become very low, resulting in an almost constant number of 2,4-

    dichloro-n-butyl and chloromethyl branches formed during the overall polymerization process.

  • CHAPTER 6

    140

    6.1 Introduction

    As opposed to the addition of the nonsolvent n-octane to the polymerization process

    of VCM, as described in the previous chapter, in this chapter the addition of a solvent

    for PVC and VCM is described.

    Many authors studied the solution polymerization of VCM in different solvents in

    comparison with bulk polymerizations 1-6. Only some publications have appeared,

    which describe the study of the precipitation polymerization of VCM in the presence of

    a solvent, such as diethyl oxalate and 2,4-dichloropentane or tetrahydrofuran 7,8,

    albeit never in case of a suspension polymerization.

    The addition of a solvent for both PVC and VCM to the polymerization system, in this

    case o-dichlorobenzene, is expected to increase the degree of swelling of the PVC in

    the polymer-rich phase. Although the concentration of VCM in the polymer-rich phase

    decreases because of dilution by o-dichlorobenzene, the total amount of VCM will not

    change as the polymer becomes more swollen 9. Especially at very high monomer

    conversions, when normally the polymer-rich phase almost reaches its Tg, this phase

    is expected to remain more swollen as o-dichlorobenzene is still present when VCM

    is almost depleted.

    A schematic ternary phase diagram of the PVC / VCM / o-dichlorobenzene system is

    constructed once more after the examples presented by Tompa 10,11 as is shown in

    Figure 6.1.

  • The suspension polymerization of VCM in the presence of a solvent for PVC

    141

    o-DCB

    VCM PVC

    Figure 6.1 Schematic ternary phase diagram for the PVC / VCM / o-dichlorobenzene (o-dcb)

    system: binodial (solid line); proposed tie lines (dotted line); constant weight fraction of o-

    dichlorobenzene in overall polymerization system (broken line)

    VCM is a poor solvent for PVC while o-dichlorobenzene is a good solvent for both

    PVC and VCM. Similar to the addition of n-octane to the polymerization system

    (Chapter 5), the weight fraction of o-dichlorobenzene is constant during the entire

    polymerization with respect to the overall composition. Polymerization occurs along

    the dashed line from the VCM / o-dichlorobenzene side to the PVC / o-

    dichlorobenzene side, which corresponds to a certain amount of o-dichlorobenzene

    that has been added to the reaction mixture and could be regarded as a kind of

    conversion scale. When more o-dichlorobenzene is added to the polymerization

    system, this dashed line will move upwards in the ternary phase diagram in the

    direction of the o-dichlorobenzene vertex. As long as this dashed line still crosses the

    binodial, the polymerization process will occur in a two-phase system for a certain

    period of time. When so much o-dichlorobenzene is added that this dashed line will

    not cross the binodial anymore, the polymerization process will occur completely in a

  • CHAPTER 6

    142

    one-phase system and can be considered as if it were a solution polymerization.

    The polymerization always starts homogeneously in a pure liquid polymer-lean phase

    and if the dashed line eventually crosses the binodials, the polymerization mixture will

    phase separate and polymerization continues in both the pure liquid polymer-lean

    phase and a more gel-like polymer-rich phase. After a certain period of time, the

    polymer-lean phase will be completely consumed and polymerization only continuous

    in the polymer-rich phase. As already described in the previous chapter for the case

    of a polymerization in a two-phase system, the intersection of the dashed line with the

    tie lines, of which a few have been proposed in Figure 6.1, corresponds to the overall

    composition of the polymerization mixture at a certain moment during polymerization.

    The intersections of these tie lines with the binodial hereby give the corresponding

    compositions of the two separate phases.

    In the presence of o-dichlorobenzene, just as in case of n-octane, both the polymer-

    lean and the polymer-rich phase contain all three components, whereby the ratio

    between these components is unequal for both phases 11,12. In the presence of larger

    amounts of o-dichlorobenzene more VCM will be available in the swollen polymer-rich

    phase, although its concentration is expected to decrease. Due to the presence of

    this larger amount of VCM in the polymer-rich phase, the polymer-lean phase will

    contain less VCM than in the regular case. Therefore, this phase will be depleted

    earlier during the polymerization and as a result, the critical conversion Xf is expected

    to shift to lower values.

    With the consumption of VCM during the polymerization, the ratio between VCM and

    o-dichlorobenzene changes in the polymerization mixture during the entire process,

    whereby the solvent quality of the VCM / o-dichlorobenzene mixture continuously

    enhances. As a consequence, PVC will become more and more swollen, and the

    composition of the polymer-rich phase will therefore change continuously. Especially

    at high monomer conversions, when polymerization only occurs in the polymer-rich

    phase, the presence of an increasing amount of o-dichlorobenzene in relation to VCM

    becomes more important. At these high monomer conversions the polymer-rich

    phase will remain more swollen than in case of the regular polymerization process,

    resulting in a larger mobility of the growing polymer chains.

  • The suspension polymerization of VCM in the presence of a solvent for PVC

    143

    Therefore, the influence of the presence of o-dichlorobenzene on the course of the

    suspension polymerization of VCM has been examined, even up to very high

    monomer conversions, together with the resulting particle morphology, the formation

    of defect structures in the polymer chain and the allied thermal stability.

    6.2 Experimental

    The polymerization process as well as the different characterization methods have

    been described elaborately in the experimental sections of the previous chapters. The

    only variation in the polymerization process is the addition of various amounts of o-

    dichlorobenzene, viz. 1.6, 2.5, 3.0, 5.0 and 10.3 wt % in proportion to the initial

    amount of VCM. o-Dichlorobenzene, purchased from Merck (99%), was used as

    received, and added to the aqueous medium consisting of PVA and the buffer salt,

    before evacuation of the reactor to remove oxygen.

    6.3 Results and Discussion

    6.3.1 Polymerization trend

    The influence of the presence of o-dichlorobenzene in the reaction mixture on the

    polymerization process of VCM was studied by the addition of the different amounts

    of o-dichlorobenzene. The courses of the pressure inside the reactor and the

    temperature of the heating system during these experiments are depicted in the

    Figures 6.2 and 6.3, respectively.

  • CHAPTER 6

    144

    0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 14004.5

    5.0

    5.5

    6.0

    6.5

    7.0

    7.5

    8.0

    8.5

    9.0

    pres

    sure

    rea

    ctor

    (b

    ar)

    polymerization time (min)

    Figure 6.2 The course of the pressure during polymerization for various amounts of o-

    dichlorobenzene:

    0 wt % (dashed line); 1.6 wt % (dotted line); 3.0 wt % (dash / dotted line); 10.3 wt % (solid line)

    Just as for n-octane, the vapor pressure of o-dichlorobenzene is very low compared

    to that of VCM, namely < 0.01 versus 8.6 atm at 57.5 °C, respectively. Therefore, a

    similar kind of lowering in the vapor pressure of the VCM / o-dichlorobenzene mixture

    is expected to be found. For the small amounts of o-dichlorobenzene no significant

    change in pressure is observed. However, with the addition of 10 wt % of o-

    dichlorobenzene a continuous decreasing pressure during the polymerization is

    indeed determined. This decrease is caused by the continuous increasing

    concentration of o-dichlorobenzene in this mixture.

    With the addition of o-dichlorobenzene a significant increase in the polymerization

    time that is needed to reach the desired monomer conversion of 87% is observed.

    This increasing polymerization time is probably a result of the deceleration of the

    reaction. Due to the increasing presence of o-dichlorobenzene the monomer

    concentration decreases and, as a consequence, the polymerization rate decreases

  • The suspension polymerization of VCM in the presence of a solvent for PVC

    145

    (see also equation 4.1 in Chapter 4). Besides this, a less pronounced gel effect, due

    to the presence of o-dichlorobenzene, can also cause an elongation of the

    polymerization time, as is shown in Figure 6.3.

    0 100 200 300 400 500 60056

    57

    58

    59

    60

    61

    62

    tem

    per

    atur

    e he

    ater

    (°C

    )

    polymerization time (min)

    Figure 6.3 The course of the temperature of the heating system during polymerization to

    maintain the polymerization temperature at 57.5 °C for various amounts of o-dichlorobenzene:

    0 wt % (dashed line); 1.6 wt % (dotted line); 3.0 wt % (dash / dotted line); 10.3 wt % (solid line)

    The hot spot gradually fades away with an increasing amount of o-dichlorobenzene.

    Due to the dilution effect of o-dichlorobenzene the monomer concentration is lowered,

    which inevitably results in a lowering of the polymerization rate and heat produced

    during polymerization. The gel effect probably also diminishes as the polymer-rich

    phase becomes more swollen in the presence of o-dichlorobenzene resulting in a

    higher mobility of the active polymer chains. This increased mobility enlarges the

    possibility of bimolecular termination, which will in turn result in a less pronounced gel

    effect. As can be observed in Figure 6.3, the hot spot has completely disappeared

    with the addition of 10 wt % of o-dichlorobenzene.

  • CHAPTER 6

    146

    6.3.2 Molecular weight

    The molecular weight of PVC was studied in relation to the various amounts of o-

    dichlorobenzene (Figure 6.4).

    30000

    40000

    50000

    60000

    70000

    80000

    90000

    100000

    0 2 4 6 8 10

    o-dichlorobenzene (wt %)

    MW

    (g/

    mol

    )

    0.0

    1.0

    2.0

    3.0

    4.0

    Mw

    /Mn

    Figure 6.4 Molecular weight development with increasing amount of o-dichlorobenzene in the

    reaction mixture: nM (�); wM (�); nw MMD = (�)

    Both the number and weight average molecular weights of the final PVC products

    show a clear decreasing trend with the increasing amount of o-dichlorobenzene.

    Within the presence of a solvent the monomer concentration decreases, which in turn

    affects the decrease in the kinetic chain length (equations 4.1 and 4.1 Chapter 4).

    Secondly, every solvent will participate to some extent in the process of chain transfer

    of growing macroradicals, which will also result in a lower average molecular weight.

    Finally, the diminishing gel effect, which is the result of a less hindered bimolecular

    termination due to the increased mobility of the growing polymer chains, could in this

    case also have a small contribution to the decrease in molecular weight.

  • The suspension polymerization of VCM in the presence of a solvent for PVC

    147

    6.3.3 Particle morphology

    The presence of o-dichlorobenzene during the polymerization of VCM also influences

    the final porosity of the PVC grains as can be deduced from Figure 6.5, in which the

    results from the Hg-intrusion test of these samples are shown.

    0

    0.01

    0.02

    0.03

    0.04

    0.05

    0.06

    0.010.1110

    pore diameter (µm)

    Hg

    intr

    usio

    n vo

    lum

    e (m

    l/g)

    Figure 6.5 Mercury intrusion test of PVC powders for various amounts of o-dichlorobenzene:

    0 wt % (♦ ); 2.5 wt % (�); 5.0 wt % (�); 10.3 wt % (�)

    The mean pore diameter increases with an increasing amount of o-dichlorobenzene.

    This increase in the size of the pores is probably caused by less dense packing of the

    primary particles, which appear to be larger in size and more fused together than in

    case of regular PVC grains. In this case it is better to talk about the packing of

    irregularly shaped agglomerates of primary particles, instead of separate particles,

    which results in larger pores or cavities between these agglomerates. The differences

    in the appearance of the primary particles are clearly visible when comparing SEM

    pictures of the inner part of PVC grains prepared in the presence of different amounts

    of o-dichlorobenzene as shown in Figure 6.6.

  • CHAPTER 6

    148

    A B

    C

    Figure 6.6 SEM pictures of PVC particles

    prepared with different amounts of

    o-dichlorobenzene:

    (A) 0 wt %; (B) 5.0 wt %; (C) 10.0 wt %

    The interior of the PVC grains, produced in the presence of o-dichlorobenzene, has

    changed in the opposite direction as in case of the addition of n-octane. The addition

    of n-octane resulted in a decrease in size and a better separation of the primary

    particles, which altogether resulted in a smaller average pore diameter and a higher

    porosity of the PVC grains (Chapter 5).

    The lower porosity of the PVC grains formed in the presence of o-dichlorobenzene is

    supposed to be caused by two factors. Due to the formation of the agglomerates,

    consisting of primary particles that are fused together, pores which are situated inside

    these agglomerates are probably less accessible, if at all. Another reason for the

    lowered porosity is probably the remaining of a significant amount of o-

    dichlorobenzene inside the polymer grains, as its removal from the grain is very

    difficult even at 4·10-6 bar. This difficult removal of o-dichlorobenzene is caused by the

  • The suspension polymerization of VCM in the presence of a solvent for PVC

    149

    fact that o-dichlorobenzene is encapsulated within the polymer matrix, which is still

    below its Tg. The amounts of o-dichlorobenzene, which were still left in the PVC

    samples after this evacuation, have been determined by means of thermogravimetric

    analysis (TGA) and are presented in Table 6.1.

    Table 6.1 Amount of o-dichlorobenzene left in the PVC grains after evacuation

    Initial amount of o-dcb (wt %) o-dcb left after evacuation (wt %)

    10.3 5.0

    5.1 2.9

    3.0 2.2

    2.5 1.6

    1.6 0.9

    Due to the presence of o-dichlorobenzene inside the polymer grains the primary

    particles are still partly swollen and, consequently, will occupy a large part of the

    grain, which would normally just be empty.

    6.3.4 Defect structures

    Of main interest is the influence of the presence of o-dichlorobenzene on the

    occurrence of side-reactions and, consequently, the formation of defect structures. By

    NMR-study only a significant change in the number of branches was found, whereas

    the changes in the number of other defects were all within the experimental error. In

    Figure 6.7 the relation is shown between the amount of o-dichlorobenzene, which

    was added to the reaction mixture, and both the total number of branches and the

    number of the different types of branches, separately.

  • CHAPTER 6

    150

    3.0

    4.0

    5.0

    6.0

    7.0

    8.0

    0.0 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0

    0.0

    0.5

    1.0

    1.5

    2.0

    0 2 4 6 8 10

    o-dichlorobenzene (wt %)

    num

    ber

    bran

    ches

    / 10

    00 V

    CM

    Figure 6.7 Development of different types of branching in the polymer main chain per 1000

    monomeric units for various amounts of o-dichlorobenzene: total branches (x); 1,2-dichloroethyl

    branches (�); long chain branches (�); 2,4-dichloro-n-butyl branches (�) and chloromethyl

    branches (♦ )

    From these results can be concluded that only the number of 2,4-dichloro-n-butyl and

    chloromethyl branches is significantly decreasing within the presence of o-

    dichlorobenzene during the suspension polymerization of VCM when compared to the

    regular PVC produced with a comparable monomer conversion of about 87%.. A

    possible explanation for the fact that only part of the branches appear to be formed to

    a lesser extent could be that only the occurence of the intramolecular side reactions is

    decreasing, although this is in contrast to the expectations. When the system

  • The suspension polymerization of VCM in the presence of a solvent for PVC

    151

    becomes more diluted by the addition of a solvent the intramolecular reactions are

    expected to become dominant over the intermolecular reactions as the polymer

    repeat unit concentration is decreasing, resulting in less overlap of the individual

    polymer coils 13. Furthermore, this decrease is only displayed up to 3 wt% of o-

    dichlorobenzene. A larger amount of o-dichlorobenzene does not seem to give any

    additional effect. For the moment no clear explanation can be found for both

    phenomena, but the conversion study of the polymerization in the presence of 3 wt %

    of o-dichlorobenzene as decribed in Section 3.3.6 will probably elucidate these

    uncertainties.

    6.3.5 Thermal stability

    The thermal stability of the PVC samples prepared in the presence of an increasing

    amount of o-dichlorobenzene was tested by means of the dehydrochlorination test as

    described in Chapter 3. The relation between the induction time (ti) and stability time

    (tst), and the amount of o-dichlorobenzene is depicted in Figure 6.8.

    4

    6

    8

    10

    0 2 4 6 8 10o-dichlorobenzene (wt %)

    t i (m

    in)

    16

    18

    20

    22

    t st (

    min

    )

    Figure 6.8 Dehydrochlorination test: ti, induction time (�) and tst, stability time (�) versus

    amount of o-dichlorobenzene

  • CHAPTER 6

    152

    From these results can be concluded that the start of the dehydrochlorination process

    is delayed in comparison to that of the regular polymer as ti increases linearly with the

    amount of o-dichlorobenzene. As already mentioned, o-dichlorobenzene could not be

    removed completely from these samples (Table 6.1). For that reason the resulting

    values of ti and tst were all corrected for the amount of o-dichlorobenzene left inside

    the polymer grains. It might be anticipated that o-dichlorobenzene itself could have

    some influence on the process of dehydrochlorination. However, Bengough and

    Sharpe 6,14,15 found that o-dichlorobenzene, when used as a solvent for PVC during

    the dehydrochlorination test performed in solution, did not play an active role in the

    degradation process. For this reason we assume that any participation of o-

    dichlorobenzene during the dehydrochlorination of PVC can be excluded. It seems

    plausible to assign this increase in induction time to the decreased number of the 2,4-

    dichloro-n-butyl branches, which are believed to be important initiating sites of the

    dehydrochlorination process due to the presence of a tertiary chlorine at the branch

    point carbon.

    It appears from the constant difference between ti and tst for all samples that in spite

    of the larger resistance against the first eliminations of HCl, the material degrades as

    fast as regular PVC once the degradation has started.

    6.3.6 Conversion study VCM polymerization in the presence of 3 wt % of o-

    dichlorobenzene

    To examine the influence of the presence of o-dichlorobenzene on the overall

    polymerization process of VCM, experiments were carried out up to five different

    monomer conversions, ranging from 12 up to 96%, for the amount of 3 wt % of o-

    dichlorobenzene.

    Both the number and weight average molecular weights only show a minor decrease

    with the addition of 3 wt % of o-dichlorobenzene, which is probably the result of the

    dilution effect of o-dichlorobenzene as already mentioned in Section 6.3.2 (Figure

    6.9).

  • The suspension polymerization of VCM in the presence of a solvent for PVC

    153

    25000

    40000

    55000

    70000

    85000

    100000

    0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

    monomer conversion (%)

    mol

    ecul

    ar w

    eigh

    t (g/

    mol

    )

    Figure 6.9 The course of number and weight average molecular weights with increasing

    monomer conversion for regular polymerizations: nM (ο); wM (�) and with the addition of 3 wt %

    of o-dichlorobenzene: nM (�); wM (�)

    The course of the number of the different types of branching with increasing monomer

    conversion in the presence of 3 wt % o-dichlorobenzene, in comparison with the

    results of the conversion series (Chapter 3) is shown in Figure 6.10.

  • CHAPTER 6

    154

    3.5

    3.9

    4.3

    4.7

    5.1

    5.5

    0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

    monomer conversion (%)

    num

    ber

    MB

    / 10

    00 V

    CM

    0.0

    0.4

    0.8

    1.2

    1.6

    2.0

    0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

    monomer conversion (%)

    num

    ber

    LCB

    / 10

    00 V

    CM

    0.2

    0.6

    1.0

    1.4

    1.8

    2.2

    0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

    monomer conversion (%)

    num

    ber

    BB

    & E

    B /

    1000

    VC

    M

    Figure 6.10 Development of the number of different types of branching with increasing monomer

    conversion with the addition of 3 wt % of o-dichlorobenzene: 2,4-dichloro-n-butyl branches BB

    (�); 1,2-dichloroethyl branches EB (�), chloromethyl branches MB (�) and long chain

    branching LCB (♦ ); in relation to the growth of the number of branches for the regular

    polymerizations (open symbols)

  • The suspension polymerization of VCM in the presence of a solvent for PVC

    155

    From these results can be deduced that the growth in number of the 2,4-dichloro-n-

    butyl and chloromethyl branches is diminished significantly with increasing monomer

    conversion in the presence of o-dichlorobenzene, whereas the long chain branches

    and 1,2-dichloroethyl branches do not present any appreciably difference.

    The rapid growth in the formation of 2,4-dichloro-n-butyl and chloromethyl branches,

    for monomer conversions beyond 85%, is clearly suppressed in the presence of o-

    dichlorobenzene. A plausible explanation for this effect could be a similar kind of

    interaction between the growing polymer chain and VCM or o-dichlorobenzene. It

    might be anticipated that both VCM and o-dichlorobenzene are able to protect the

    growing macroradical by means of donor-acceptor interactions with the polymer

    chain, with VCM and o-dichlorobenzene acting as π-bases while PVC is a strong

    Lewis acid. As these interactions only seem to hinder the occurrence of

    intramolecular side-reactions, the radical chain end appears to be protected mostly,

    although no clear explanation for this can be given at the moment.

    At very high monomer conversions, beyond 85%, the effect of o-dichlorobenzene

    becomes more pronounced. It will act as a substitute for VCM whose concentration

    and, consequently, its protective action has become very low. Therefore, the growth

    in number of the 2,4-dichloro-n-butyl and chloromethyl branches is expected to be

    smaller with increasing monomer conversions, beyond 85%, as the intramolecular

    side-reactions will still be hindered due to the presence of o-dichlorobenzene.

    When examining the thermal stability by means of the dehydrochlorination test, an

    obvious improvement is observed also, especially at very high monomer conversions

    near the limiting conversion of 96% (Figure 6.12).

  • CHAPTER 6

    156

    3

    4

    5

    6

    7

    0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

    monomer conversion (%)

    dhc-

    rate

    x 1

    000

    (%/m

    in)

    Figure 6.12 Dehydrochlorination (dhc) rate in relation to increasing monomer conversion for a

    regular polymerization (ο) or after addition of 3 wt % o-dichlorobenzene (�)

    6.4 Conclusions

    The suspension polymerization of VCM in the presence of o-dichlorobenzene was

    studied. The hot spot diminishes with the addition of o-dichlorobenzene and after the

    addition of at least 10 wt % the hot spot was completely vanished. Due to the addition

    of o-dichlorobenzene the monomer concentration in both the polymer-lean and

    polymer-rich phase decreases. As a result, the polymerization rate decreases and, as

    a consequence, less heat is created. Besides this, the polymer-rich phase will also be

    more swollen in the presence of o-dichlorobenzene, especially at higher monomer

    conversions. Therefore, bimolecular termination will probably be enhanced and,

    consequently, the gel effect will be less pronounced as the radical concentration will

    slightly decrease. This decreasing radical concentration also results in a lowering of

    the reaction rate and heat development. Due to the decrease in reaction rate, an

    increasing amount of o-dichlorobenzene requires a longer period of time to reach a

    monomer conversion of 87%.

    The polymerization of VCM in the presence of 3 wt % of o-dichlorobenzene with

    increasing monomer conversion up to 96% was also investigated. The numbers of

    2,4-dichloro-n-butyl and chloromethyl branches are significantly lower for very high

  • The suspension polymerization of VCM in the presence of a solvent for PVC

    157

    monomer conversions when compared to those for regular PVC, while the thermal

    stability has significantly increased.

    The presence of o-dichlorobenzene especially seems to hinder the occurrence of the

    intramolecular side-reactions such as backbiting and H-shifts. This hindrance might

    be the result of the formation of a kind of protection shield around the polymer chain

    by means of CH-π interactions. The intermolecular processes do not seem to be

    hampered at all by the presence of VCM or o-dichlorobenzene.

    6.5 References

    1. Blout, E. R.; Hohenstein, W. P.; Mark, H. Vinyl chloride; In Monomers. A collection of data and procedures on the basic materials for the synthesis of fibres, plastics and rubbers; Blout, E. R., Hohenstein, W. P., Mark, H., eds. Interscience Publishers, Inc.: New York, 1949; pp 1-32.

    2. Talamini, G. J.Polym.Sci. 1966, 4, 535-537.

    3. Crosato-Arnaldi, A.; Gasparini, P.; Talamini, G. Makromol.Chem. 1968, 117, 140-152.

    4. Vidotto, G.; Crosato-Arnaldi, A.; Talamini, G. Makromol.Chem. 1968, 114, 217-225.

    5. Crosato-Arnaldi, A.; Talamini, G.; Vidotto, G. Makromol.Chem. 1968, 111, 123-136.

    6. Breitenbach, J. W.; Olaj, O. F.; Schindler, A. Makromol.Chem. 1969, 122, 51-64.

    7. Ryska, M.; Kolinský, M.; Lim, D. J.Polym.Sci., Part C 1967, 16, 621-631.

    8. Mickley, H. S.; Michaels, A. S.; Moore, A. L. J.Polym.Sci. 1962, 60, 121-140.

    9. Olaj, O. F.; Breitenbach, J. W.; Reif, H.; Parth, K. J. Angew.Chem. 1971, 83, 370.

    10. Tompa, H. Transactions from the Faraday Society 1949, 45, 1142-1152.

    11. Tompa, H. Phase relationships; In Polymer solutions; Butterworths Scientific Publications: London, 1956; pp 174-232.

    12. Scott, R. L. The Journal of Chemical Physics 1949, 17, 268-279.

    13. Ahmad, N. M.; Heatley, F; Lovell, P. A. Macromolecules 1998, 31, 2822-2827.

    14. Bengough, W. I.; Sharpe, H. M. Makromol.Chem. 1963, 66, 31-44.

    15. Bengough, W. I.; Varma, I. K. Eur.Polym.J. 1966, 2, 49-59.