Polymerization kinetics of indene, methyl methacrylate and acrylonitrile and characterization of their terpolymer

The free radical terpolymerization of indene (In), methyl methacrylate (MMA) and acrylonitrile (AN) has been investigated. The rate of polymerization of all the binary systems involved has been measured dilatometrically for the homogeneous polymerization. The reactivity ratios of the three binary systems were calculated and were found to be equal to 0.031 and 0.397 for In/AN copolymers and 0.02 and 3.82 for In/MMA copolymers and finally 0.152 and 1.20 for AN/MMA copolymers. The rate of terpolymerization in bulk has been measured as well as the relationship between the monomer mixture composition and the obtained terpolymer in order to construct the compositional triangle. Also the effect of initiator concentration on the rate of terpolymerization was investigated. The activation energy of terpolymerization was determined. The terpolymers were characterized by spectral and thermo-gravimetric analyses. The data indicates that polyindene improves the thermal stability of the prepared terpolymers.