Kinetics and modeling of methyl methacrylate graft copolymerization in the presence of natural rubber latex

A graft copolymerization model for using cumene hydroperoxide/tetraethylenepentamine (CHPO/TEPA) as a redox initiator was developed to describe the grafting of methyl methacrylate onto natural rubber latex as a core-shell particle. The model allows estimating the effects of the initiator concentration, monomer-rubber weight ratio, and temperature on the properties of graft product, e.g., % grafting efficiency and the % monomer composition in the graft copolymer and free polymer. The rate expressions of polymer chain formation are developed by taking into account a reduction of CHPO by TEPA and a population event of radicals between core/shell phases. The parameter estimation is performed to find the kinetic parameters. Validation with experimental results demonstrates a good applicability of the proposed model. The model results reveal that the formation of grafted polymer chains rather form by the chain transfer reaction to rubber chains from homopolymer radicals and the initiation reaction of cumyloxy radicals to rubber chains.