The major goal of this work is to develop and test a system capable of monitoring polymerisation processes in real time. Such a system should provide accurate conversion and molecular weight distribution data compared with results from manual sampling. Online monitoring techniques have been applied to the controlled radical polymerisation of methyl acrylate mediated by copper wire. Conversion has been measured using Near Infra-Red spectroscopy and conversion and molecular weight distributions monitored with rapid chromatography and the results compared with conventional analytical techniques in order to demonstrate the validity of the data. Parameters that affect the reaction have been varied in order to optimise conditions for synthesis and gain an insight into the reaction mechanism. Alcohols as additives in a non-polar solvent system for Cu(0) mediated polymerisation of methyl acrylate have been assessed. These reactions potentially facilitate the polymerisation of monomers for which polymerisation using copper metal would otherwise be inaccessible due to lack of solubility.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:524942 |
| Date | January 2008 |
| Creators | Levere, Martin |
| Publisher | University of Warwick |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/3757/ |
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