Role of radical compartmentalization in chain branching and gel formation in emulsion polymerization

An analysis of the mechanisms through which active chain compartmentalization affects the reactions between polymer chains has revealed that accounting in detail for the chain length distribution of the pairs of active chains belonging to the same particles is necessary to predict correctly the molecular weight and gel point of a branched polymer produced in emulsion. This has been confirmed by a comparison between the results of two models, one admitting and one neglecting this aspect in molecular weight calculation.