The Mechanism of Isoprene Polymerization Initiated with Ticl4-Trialkylaluminum. Molecular Weight Distribution of the Polymer

Abstract

The molecular weight distribution of polyisoprene obtained by polymerization under the influence of complexes of titanium tetrachloride with tri-isobutylaluminum has been found within broad limits to be independent of the degree of conversion. On the basis of this finding an hypothesis is offered to explain the limitation of polymer chain length according to which chain scission is assumed to increase with the size of the chain.