Two New Mechanism Generators of Chemical Instability in Polymerization Reactions.

ABSTRACT Two new kinetic mechanisms of polymerization are proposed (0Re-1,2 and 0Re-1) to study the instability of the steady states by the Lyapounov method. Both mechanisms take into account a reinitiation step in the polymerization process, but they are different because 0Re-1,2 considers two kinds of termination steps: a zero- and a second-order terminations. However, in the second mechanism, 0Re-1, only one of those termination steps (the zero-order one) is presented. In both proposed mechanisms, the nondiffusive and diffusive cases are studied. The results show that they are able to display arrangements in time (limit cycle oscillations) and space (order form fluctuations). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]