PREPARATION AND REACTIVITY OF METAL-CONTAINING MONOMERS .27. THERMAL DECAY OF COBALT DIACRYLATE

The thermal decay of unsaturated cobalt carboxylate, Co(CH2=CHCOO)(2).H2O (1), involves dehydration, thermolysis, and solid-phase polymerization processes. Within 350-390 degrees C up to conversions eta = 0.90 divided by 0.95 the rate of decay obeys the first-order equation: W(eta) = d eta/dt= k(1-eta), where k = 3.10(14)exp[-240/(RT)] [s(-1)]. The products of the decay of 1 were analyzed by IR and mass spectroscopy as well as by optical microscopy. It was found that the thermal polymerization of 1, initiated by the radicals formed upon thermolysis, gives rise to the formation of polymeric products stable up to 350 degrees C.