Abstract
The polymerization of vinylidene chloride initiated by n-butyllithium in n-hexane has been investigated. It has been found that the initial rate of polymerization is independent of the catalyst concentration above a critical value and is proportional to the square of the monomer concentration. The activation energy of the over-all rate was 10.7kcal./mol. The chlorine content of the polymer decreased inversely with the increase of catalyst concentration. An anionic mechanism is suggested for the polymerization kinetics.