Determination of the purity of monomers by a catalytic bromination method

Abstract

Titanium(IV) chloride has been found to be an effective catalyst for the bromination of olefinic monomers using pyridine sulfate dibromide as the brominating reagent. This catalytic reaction has been successfully used for the quantitative determination of the purity of monomers such as styrene, acrylic acid, hexadecene, vinyl acetate, butyl methacrylate, etc. The results are comparable with other established methods of analysis. The catalytic effect of TiCl₄ was found to be insensitive to light and, therefore, free from errors induced by the effect of light, as in the case of the Hg^II acetate catalyst currently being used. The use of TiCl₄ as a new catalyst eliminates the risk of handling and disposal of hazardous Hg^II acetate and the related environmental problems.