Modeling the Kinetics of Monolith Formation by RAFT Copolymerization of Styrene and Divinylbenzene

The synthesis of monoliths by reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) copolymerization of styrene and divinylbenzene (DVB) at high-crosslinker content is studied using the recently reported multifunctional polymer molecule approach. The agreement between model predictions, incorporating diffusion-control, and experimental data from CSIRO is good for all cases analyzed. This includes examples with high-crosslinker concentrations, which cause deviation from some of the simplifying assumptions imposed in the model.