Vinyl polymerization. LXVI.. The effect of zinc chloride on the radical polymerization of vinyl monomers

Abstract

Abstract A study of the effect of zinc chloride on the radical polymerization of various vinyl monomers has been made. It was observed that zinc chloride could accelerate the polymerizations of some vinyl monomers containing ester and nitrile groups, photochemically initiated by azobissobutyronitrile (AIBN). Zinc chloride did not affect the rate of decomposition of AIBN. Therefore, it might be assumed that the acceleration effect of ZnCl 2 influenced the propagation rate as result of a complex formation of the monomers with ZnCl 2 . It was proved from X‐ray or infrared analyses that the polymers thus obtained did not show any crystallinity.