A kinetic study of the polymerization of aliphatic imides
Abstract
Thermal polymerization of a homologous series of aliphatic poly(methylene) citra-itaconimides was investigated by differential scanning calorimetry. Enthalpic analysis indicated that, at least to a major extent, the conversion reactions followed pseudo-first-order kinetics. A reasonably linear correlation between the number of sequential methylene groups (6, 8, 10, and 12), between the imide ring structures of the monomers, and the activation energy was observed. Reaction rates and initial temperatures of polymerization as well as thermal stability are compared to those of related poly(methylene)–biscitraconimides and –bismaleimides.