A Safety Strategy for Producing Poly(Acrylic Acid) of Low Molar Mass

Abstract

The synthesis of poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) of low molar mass under safe conditions is difficult due to the high polymerization rate of acrylic acid (AA) and the fast heat generation. The aqueoussolution ?semibatch? polymerization of non-ionized AA in almost starved conditions involves high initiator loads when low molar masses are required. This article proposes the simultaneous feeding of AA and nonconventional chain transfer agents (CTA) as a strategy aimed at controlling both the molar masses and the generated heat rate. Three CTAs are investigated: 2-mercaptoethanol, thioglycolic acid, and isopropyl alcohol. Even when PAA of relatively low molar mass can be produced by adequately selecting the flow rates and concentrations of both AA and CTA, it is found that the nature of CTA can have a significant effect on the polymerizations kinetics. The mechanisms responsible for these effects are discussed with the help of a representative mathematical model.