Peer reviewed
Direct linkERIC Number: EJ1161311
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2017-Nov
Pages: 4
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0021-9584
EISSN: N/A
Synthesis of Polystyrene and Molecular Weight Determination by [superscript 1]H NMR End-Group Analysis
Wackerly, Jay Wm.; Dunne, James F.
Journal of Chemical Education, v94 n11 p1790-1793 Nov 2017
A procedure for the solution polymerization of styrene using di-"tert"-butyl peroxide (DTBP) as the initiator is described. The use of DTBP allows for end-group analysis by [superscript 1]H NMR spectroscopy and calculation of the number-average molecular weight of the polymer. This experiment was designed as a laboratory introduction to polymer chemistry for second-year undergraduate students. The highest-order focus was to get students to derive an equation to calculate the number-average molecular weight by [superscript 1]H NMR spectral analysis.
Descriptors: Synthesis, Molecular Structure, Plastics, Laboratory Experiments, Chemistry, Undergraduate Study, Teaching Methods
Division of Chemical Education, Inc and ACS Publications Division of the American Chemical Society. 1155 Sixteenth Street NW, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: 800-227-5558; Tel: 202-872-4600; e-mail: eic@jce.acs.org; Web site: http://pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
