Acrylonitrile polymerization from aqueous solution. The role of surfactants

Abstract

When sodium dodecyl, tetradecyl or hexadecyl suphate is present at less than the critical micellar concentration during polymerization of acrylonitrile from aqueous solution, the major effect is a large increase in the number of particles and in the fraction of reaction during which new particles form. The increase in the rate of polymerization is minor. This is interpreted on the basis that most of the significant chemical events occur in the aqueous phase.