Polymerization of vinyl acetate initiated by a copper alginate coordination polymer film/Na2SO3/H2O system

A hydrophobic film of copper alginate coordination polymer was prepared by sealing a sodium alginate film in a. 13% CuCl2 aqueous solution at room temperature for more than 24 h. The composition, structure, and property of copper alginate as a coordination catalyst were studied by ESR, IR, XPS, and electric conductivity methods. It was shown that a low-spin copper complex was formed as a result of the acceptance by dsp(2) hybrid orbitals of nonpaired electrons transferred From oxygen atoms of two carbonyl hydroxyl groups and negatively charged oxygen atoms of two deprotonated carbonyl hydroxyl groups of two alginate chains. The coordination number of the central Cu2+ ions in copper alginate is 4. It can be concluded that the Vacant site on the active catalysis resulted from the distorted tetragonal configuration that was caused by a crimped chain of the alginate molecule. HSO3- produced primary free-radical hydrogen by a coordination catalysis mechanism and vinyl acetate (VAc) polymerization by a free-radical mechanism that is different from polymerization initiated by a CuCl2-Na2SO3-H2O oxidation reduction system. The induction period for Vile polymerization is 90 s: and the yield is 82%. The M-w,M-n, and M-w/M-n of poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc) were found to be 1.23 x 10(6), 2.27 x 10(5), and 4.51, respectively.