Anionic and Cationic Polymerization

These flashcards cover key concepts related to anionic and cationic polymerization, including initiators, mechanisms, and molecular weight characteristics.

Nucleophilic Initiators

Initiators that add to a monomer to generate an anion.

Redox Initiators

Initiators that transfer an electron to a monomer.

Monomer structure

Determines which initiator to use in polymerization processes.

Acidic initiators

Strong Brønsted acids that generate carbocations by adding protons to monomers.

Lewis acids

Compounds like BF3 and AlCl3 that can initiate polymerization but often require a proton donor.

Polar solvents

Solvents that lead to faster reactions in anionic polymerization due to lower aggregation.

Living Polymerization

Polymerization processes that occur without termination or transfer.

Dispersity (Mw/Mn)

A measure of the distribution of molecular mass in a given polymer sample.

Chain Transfer

Reactions that can lead to the transfer of an active center in cationic polymerization.

Termination in Anionic Polymerization

Limited termination processes, involving disproportionation and combination mechanisms.