Kinetics of the Anionic Polymerization of 1,3-Butadiene Using an Initiator Composed of Alkyl Aluminium, n-Butyllithium and Barium Alkoxide to Produce High trans-1,4-Polybutadiene

A kinetic model that considers three geometric active sites -cis, trans and vinyl-was proposed to the study polymerization reaction of high 1,4-trans-polybutadiene (TPBD) prepared by means of anionic living polymerization using an initiator composed of alkyl aluminium, n-butyllithium and barium alkoxide. The conversion and dyad sequence distribution was correctly predicted; the kinetic results indicated that the microstructure and sequence distribution do not change with the conversion and temperature within the range of temperature investigated (40-80°C). In addition, it was observed that the addition mechanism of butadiene to the active sites is entropic.