An Experimental Investigation on the Free Radical Synthesis and Characterization of Styrene Acrylonitrile Copolymers

Abstract

<p>This Thesis report on the free radical synthesis and characterization of styrene/acrylonitrile (SAN) copolymers.</p> <p>A wide region of the kinetic behaviour of SAN copolymers has been experimentally mapped. The effects of temperature, initiator and comonomer concentrations on the rate of reaction and copolymer properties were experimentally investigated and discussed in view of the existing theory. Using low conversion copolymers as standards, current copolymer characterization techniques with particular emphasis on size exclusion chromatography (SEC) have been investigated. Polymer/solvent/packing interactions, instrumentation, calibration and interpretation techniques for SEC were investigated and extended to copolymer analysis.</p> <p>This investigation, as part of an ongoing program on the synthesis characterization, modelling and control of copolymers and copolymerization reactions, provides some of the systematic ground work essential to the understanding and eventual modelling of these rather complex systems.</p>