Methyl Methacrylate Styrene

Abstract

Polymeric peroxides are mainly a class of 1:1 copolymers of vinyl monomers and oxygen. The study of the formation of these polymers has been instrumental in explaining the inhibitory role of oxygen in vinyl polymerization. However, the physico-chemical properties of this class of polymers remained largely unexplored until recently. The present study on polyperoxides principally emerges from the background of the highly exothermic degradation of these polymers and their identification as key intermediates in propellant combustion, both reported from our laboratory. During the present investigation, the new phenomena of auto-pyrolyzability and auto-combustibility were demonstrated in PSP, making it and the whole class of polyperoxides ideal candidates for a special fuel. Based on the special fuel characteristics of PSP, a novel propellant system requiring only 30–35 weight % of oxidizer content was developed (the usually employed minimum oxidizer content in conventional propellant systems is around 60–70 weight %). Five new polymeric peroxides from methyl methacrylate, vinyl naphthalenes, and divinyl benzene were synthesized. The thermal degradation of the first four of them was studied in great detail. A novel redox-initiating system comprising PSP and an amine was successfully developed for the room-temperature radical polymerization of vinyl monomers.