Molecular weight distribution of crosslinked polymers produced in emulsion

A kinetic model for evaluating the chain length distribution of a branched polymer produced in emulsion was developed. Chain branching occurring through any intermolecular mechanism is considered, namely, crosslinking, chain transfer to polymer and propagation to terminal double bond. The model accounts for active chain compartmentalization and, when coupled to a model able to describe the evolution of the polymerization system, allows evaluation of the cumulative properties of the produced polymer both in the pregel and postgel phases. The numerical difficulties related to the description of a rather wide polymer chain population and of gel formation are overcome by using the 'numerical fractionation' technique. A parametric analysis of both instantaneous and cumulative properties is reported and discussed, with special attention to the role of radical compartmentalization in determining the molecular weight properties of a polymer produced in emulsion. Significant differences with the molecular weights computed using models developed for homogeneous :non compartmentalized) systems have been found. A comparison with the predictions of Flory's statistical theory is also reported in terms of gel point and gel weight fraction. (C) 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc