Free radical polymerisation

Alkene Polymerization Process

• Overview: The process described involves the polymerization of an alkene.

  • Alkene Structure: An alkene is represented as having four groups, labeled as a, b, c, and d.

Key Conditions

• Temperature: 200 degrees Celsius

• Pressure: 2,000 atmospheres (high pressure)

• Oxygen: A small amount of oxygen is required for the reaction.

Mechanism of Reaction

• Random Assembly: The number of alkene units, labeled as "n", can vary randomly.

  • The value of n can be:

    • Very large

    • Very small

    • Indeterminate, as it is subject to randomness.

• Double Bond Opening:

  • During the reaction, the double bond in the alkene structure breaks, permitting the alkene units to join together end-to-end.

Resulting Products

• Monomer: The original alkene structure (with groups a, b, c, and d) is termed a monomer.

• Polymer: The product formed on the right-hand side after polymerization consists of numerous joined monomer units, maintaining the identity of the four groups (a, b, c, and d) throughout the polymer chain.