Thermally initiated frontal polymerization of transition metal nitrate acrylamide complexes

The effect of the thermally initiated frontal polymerization of acrylamide complexes of transition metal nitrates such as those of Mn(II), Co(II), Ni(II), and Zn(II) was disclosed. The rate of the polymerization front propagation was found to be 2−9 × 10−2cm/c, depending appreciably on sample diameter and density, as well as the presence of radical inhibitor additives. The rate was found to decrease in the series: Co(II) > Ni(II) > Mn(II) > Zn(II). Polymerization was shown to occur directly in the melting region of a complex at 80–100°C to give three‐dimensional polymers. A mechanism of the polymerization being initiated with the products of the partial nitrate group decomposition was proposed. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.