Polymerization of methyl methacrylate in water and water–ethylene glycol mixtures

The polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) was carried out in water and in water-ethylene glycol (EG) mixtures using sodium bisulfite as initiator. The rate of polymerization was found to be dependent on the initiator, the monomer, and ethylene glycol concentrations to the powers 0.68, 1.08, and 1.5, respectively. Addition of ethylene glycol increased both the rate of polymerization and the viscosity average molecular weights of the obtained polymers, while the rate of polymerization was found to decrease with temperature. The apparent activation activation energies were found to be 13.79 and 10.45 kJ/mol in water and in water-ethylene glycol mixture (50/50) (v/v), respectively.