Year of Commercial Development- 1950 (Seymour 6) reference specifically says
"poly(acrylonitrile fibers)."
Properties of Acrylonitrile Monomer
sight
colorless liquid
smell
faint pungent odor or peach pits
molecular weight
53.06
density
0.806 g/ml at 20 deg C
Synthesis of acrylonitrile
acetylene and hydrogen cyanide gas in the presence of CuCl-NH4Cl at
80 to 90 deg C.
HO - CH2 - CH2 - CN heated at 200 deg C
HO-CH2-CH2-CN is prepared from reacting ethylene oxide and hydrogen cyanide
gas in the presence of a base catalyst.
(Sohio process) propylene and NH3 with 1.5 equivalents of oxygen gas in the presence
of catalyst at 400 to 460 deg C.
Most of the acrylonitrile is produced by the ammoxidation of propylene
(ref: Encyclopedia of Polymer Science and Engineering: 2nd ed. 1984- v. 1,
page 430)
Synthesis of poly(acrylonitrile)
Polymerization processes include:
bulk
Poly(acrylonitrile) is not soluble in its monomer. The reaction is
autocatalytic, and as the viscosity increases, it becomes increasingly
difficult to remove heat. The reaction may run out of control if done
by a batch process.
emulsion
suspension
slurry
solution
Dimethylformamide is the solvent to use for a solution process.
(ref: K. Sugiyama, J. Macromol. Sci. Chem. Ed., A13(1), 13 (1979)
Acrylamide polymerizes exothermically in the presence of free radical
or anionic initiators.
Oxygen is a strong inhibitor, but it forms peroxides...
explosion coming...
Once all the oxygen has reacted, the polymerization begins, the peroxides
begin to thermally degrade, and then .
Dissolving polyacrylamide is tricky:
The solvent must form hydrogen bonds with a strength comparable to
that of the polymer chains, but also separate the polymer molecules
with a nonpolar segment.
(ref: Encyclopedia of Polymer Science and Engineering: 2nd ed. 1984- v. 1,
page 438)
Dimethylformamide works, but formamide, methylformamide, and diethylformamide
do not.
Dimethylsulfone works, but diethyl sulfone does not.
Glass transition temperature- 105 deg C (Seymour 29)
