Kinetic Studies of the Solution Polymerization of Trioxane Catalyzed by BF3·O(C2H5)2. I. The Effect of the Catalyst and the Water Concentration on the Rate of Polymerization

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Abstract
In the solution polymerization of TO catalyzed by BF3·O(C2H5)2, water acted as a co-catalyst in n-hexane, a non-polar solvent; in ethylene dichloride, a polar solvent, water slightly accelerated the rate of polymerization, and in nitrobenzene, a more polar solvent, water did not affect the rate at all. The kinetic order of the catalyst concentration to the polymerization rate was 1.0 in benzene, 0.5 in ethylene dichloride, and zero in nitrobenzene. The induction period was very short when water was excluded as much as possible, but it increased with an increase in the water concentration and with a decrease in the catalyst concentration.