Abstract
The polymerization of butadiene with nickel (II) stearate–Et2AlCl catalyst has been studied in a batch reactor. The rate of polymerization is first order with respect to monomer and increases with the addition of water. In this system, no appreciable termination reaction has been found and the chain transfer to monomer dictates the molecular weight distribution of the polymer products. Molecular weight increases with conversion and water content. The cis‐1,4 content was found to be a function of the extent of polymerization.
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