Polymerization of acrylonitrile initiated by a manganese(III) acetate glycerol redox system

The kinetics of polymerization of acrylonitrile(AN) initiated by manganese(III) acetate in the presence of glycerol was investigated in the temperature range of 30–40°C. The effect of varying the concentrations of glycerol, sulfuric acid, acetic acid, metal ion, and monomer on the rate was studied. A suitable reaction scheme and rate expression have been proposed. Termination was mutual and was caused by the combination of two growing polymer radicals.