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EPR Study of Backbiting in the Aqueous-Solution Polymerization of Acrylamide
Hendrik Kattner1, Michael Buback1
1Institut für Physikalische Chemie, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Tammannstr. 6, D-37077, Göttingen, Germany.
Abstract:
Via electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy, the type of radicals occurring during acrylamide (AAm) homopolymerization in aqueous solution is investigated between -5 and +100 °C. The radicals are produced photochemically under stationary conditions. Midchain AAm radicals (MCRs) are clearly identified by EPR which demonstrates that secondary propagating AAm radicals (SPRs) undergo backbiting reactions. Above 50 °C, the fraction of MCRs even exceeds the one of SPRs. The extent of backbiting is however well below the one in butyl acrylate polymerization at identical temperature.
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