Structural kinetic analysis of radical polymerization employing a modified Avrami equation

The Avrami equation has been used to analyse the dependence of the extent of polymerization on time for processes of radical polymerization that lead to the formation of linear and network polymers. It is found that the parameter n in this equation is sensitive to the polymerization conditions and to the structure of the polymer formed because of topological and kinetic similarities between heterogeneous radical polymerization and the phase transformation process.It is proposed to use the parameter n as a unifying structural kinetic characteristic of the radical polymerization process.