| In this study, an attempt has been made to elucidate the kinetics of free radical bulk/solution copolymerization through the evaluation of existing mathematical models and incorporation of new ideas into these models.;The mathematical model which has been incorporated in a user friendly, computer software package, has been tested over a wide range of experimental conditions by comparing the model predictions with experimental data available in the literature. This has been done to fine-tune the model by re-estimating model parameters for better agreement between model predictions and published experimental results. While agreement between model predictions and experimental results has been satisfactory for copolymerization rate and composition, the predictions for the molecular weight have been less satisfactory mainly because of the experimental difficulty in estimating many key parameters affecting molecular weight. (Abstract shortened by UMI.);Specifically, the parameter set has been compiled for the copolymer systems styrene/butyl acrylate, styrene/ethyl acrylate, styrene/acrylonitrile, styrene/methyl methacrylate, styrene/acrylic acid, styrene/methacrylic acid and styrene/ethylhexyl acrylate. |
