Radical polymerization of N,N-diallyl quaternary salts in the presence of uranyl ions

The presence of uranyl ions in an aqueous solution of N,N-diallyl-N-isopropoxycarbonylmethyl-N-methylammonium chloride (DIMC) markedly accelerates the photoinitiated radical polymerization of this salt. The initial polymerization rate is increased by a factor of up to 20 upon increasing the initial uranyl ion concentration in aqueous solutions of the monomer containing ammonium peroxydisulfate. The dependence of the initial polymerization rate and of the specific viscosity of the polymer formed on the UO/sub 3//sup 2 +//DIMC mole ratio passes through a maximum.