Radiation-induced ionic polymerization of 1,2 cyclohexene oxide

Abstract

The radiation-induced polymerization of 1,2-cyclohexene oxide has been investigated under very dry conditions. The retarding effect caused by addition of water and ammonia on the polymerization rate and on the molecular weight strongly suggests an ionic mechanism. A linear dependence of the polymerization rate and the invariance of the molecular weight with dose rate provide evidence that also for pure samples chain termination occurs between propagation ions and traces of impurities which cannot be removed. The results have been critically examined with the aim of evaluating the G_i and the ratio (k_r/k_p) between the rate constants for retardation and propagation.