Macromolecular Compounds. CCCII. Polymerization of Acrylonitrile. Polyacrylonitrile

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Abstract
Products obtained by the polymerization of vinyl compounds and acryl compounds are among the most important of synthetic organic materials. Each of these unsaturated compounds imparts special properties to the simple polymers and mixed polymers prepared from them, and it is because of these special properties that the polymers have found such wide application. Acrylonitrile, for example, is used technically on a large scale, particularly as a component in mixed polymerizations, and it imparts characteristic properties to the mixed polymers, e.g., resistance to organic solvents. In contrast to most other polyvinyl and polyacryl compounds, polyacrylonitrile is insoluble in organic solvents, and because of the unusual behavior of this polymer, it seemed of interest to study the polymerization of acrylonitrile and some of the products of its polymerization. In the polymerization of vinyl compounds, either soluble or insoluble polymers are obtained, depending on the type of monomer and the choice of operating conditions. Styrene, vinyl acetate, methacrylonitrile, and acrylic and methacrylic esters of monohydroxy alcohols yield soluble polymers. On the contrary, when divinylbenzene and likewise acrylonitrile are polymerized, insoluble polymers are obtained. Vinylmethyl ketone, butadiene and other compounds yield either soluble or insoluble products, depending on the experimental conditions.

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