MACROMOLECULAR CHEMISTRY AND POLYMERIC MATERIALS Suspension Copolymerization of Divinylbenzene in a Gel Medium

A procedure of suspension polymerization and copolymerization in a medium of thermally reversible gels was developed. DOI: 10.1134/S1070427208030270 Three-dimensional radical bulk copolymerization of divinylbenzene with a series of vinyl monomers was studied previously (1). To prepare spherical par- ticles based on these copolymers, a new procedure of polymerization in a gel medium was suggested (2, 3). This work was aimed to prepare spherical particles of copolymers of p-divinylbenzene (DVB) with styr- ene (St) and diethyl fumarate (DEF) by suspension copolymerization in a gel medium. Since the matrices of these polymers should serve in future to produce sorbents, in the reaction we used diluents favorable for the formation of the porous structure of the co- polymers (CPs).