Analysis of oligomers formed during an emulsion polymerization by means of isotachophoresis

Isotachophoresis is an outstanding technique to determine ionic organic compounds in water. The product of a surfactant free emulsion polymerization of butadiene with potassium persulphate as initiator was analysed and compared with the isotachopherograms of aliphatic sulphates of known structure. This resulted in a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the oligomers with 1-3 monomeric units and one sulphate end group. It seems possible to develop isotachophoresis to become a valuable tool providing insight into initiation, propagation and termination reactions occuring in the water phase, as well as information about the contribution of the oligomers (radicalic and terminated species) to particle formation