Time-resolved investigations of pulse-initiated polymerization

Abstract The radiation polymerization of vinylpyrrolidone (VP) in aqueous solution was studied. For pulse radiolysis experiments, absorption and light scattering detection were used to measure the nature and concentration of reacting species. Some aspects of these detection methods in relation to the kinetic measurements in the radiation-induced polymerization reactions were discussed. The absorption spectra of intermediates were taken. The decay of the transient species follows second-order kinetics with the rate constant depending on the VP concentration. The growth of the absorbance and intensity of scattered light in the concentrated VP solution (9,4 × 10 −1 mol dm −3 ) occur both in the same timescale.