Self-initiation mechanism in spontaneous thermal polymerization of ethyl and n-butyl acrylate: a theoretical study

In this study, the mechanism of self-initiation in spontaneous thermal polymerization of ethyl and n-butyl acrylate is explored using first-principles calculations. Density functional theory (with B3LYP functional and 6-31G* basis set) was used to study [4 + 2] and [2 + 2] cycloaddition reactions on the singlet and triplet potential energy surfaces. Diels-Alder (DA) dimers of ethyl acrylate [6-ethoxy-2-ethoxycarbonyl-3,4-dihydro-2H-pyran (EDP)] and of n-butyl acrylate [6-butoxy-2-butoxycarbonyl-3,4-dihydro-2H-pyran (BDP)] were found to form on the singlet surface via the concerted pathway proposed by Mayo. The formation of diethyl cyclobutane-1,2-dicarboxylate (DECD) and dibutyl cyclobutane-1,2-dicarboxylate (DBCD) via a nonconcerted pathway was identified on the singlet surface of ethyl and n-butyl acrylate, respectively. The presence of a diradical transition state for the formation of the DECD and DBCD was predicted. Triplet potential energy surfaces for the formation of diradical dimer of ethyl and n-butyl acrylate were computed, and the presence of a triplet diradical intermediate was identified for each of the monomers. A low energy monoradical generation mechanism was identified to be involving hydrogen abstraction by a third acrylate monomer from the triplet diradical species. The molecular structure of the computed monoradical species was found to correlate with chain initiating species of the dominant series of peaks in previously reported electrospray ionization-Fourier transform mass spectra of spontaneously polymerized samples of ethyl and n-butyl acrylate. In view of these observations, it is concluded that this self-initiation mechanism is most likely the initiating mechanism in spontaneous thermal polymerization of alkyl acrylates.