Polymerization processes and products therefrom

A process of producing a cation exchange resin having sulfonic acid groups which comprises copolymerizing a mixture consisting of styrene and divinyl benzene or trivinylbenzene while said monomers are dissolved in 25-150% by weight, based on monomer weight, of an organic liquid which is a solvent for said monomers but is unable to swell the copolymer of styrene and divinylbenzene, recovering from said copolymerization a solid macroreticular copolymer matrix of porous structure which is permeated by small voids into which liquids are able to penetrate, and then sulfonating said copolymer matrix, the macroreticular structure of the latter being retained in the sulfonated product.

A cation exchange resin consisting of a water-insoluble matrix and cation exchange groups bonded thereto, wherein as said matrix there is employed a solid macroreticular copolymer of porous structure which is permeated by small voids or channels into which liquids are able to penetrate, which matrix is prepared by copolymerizing a mixture consisting essentially of (1) a monovinyl carbocyclic aromatic compound or an ester of acrylic or methacrylic acid, with (2) a polyethylenically unsaturated monomer selected from the group consisting of a polyvinyl carbocyclic aromatic compound, an ester of a dihydric alcohol and an .alpha.-.beta.-ethylenically unsaturated carboxylic acid, diallylmaleate, and divinyl ketone, the aforesaid copolymerization being conducted while the monomers are dissolved in 25 to 150% by weight, based on monomer weight, of an organic liquid which is a solvent for said monomers but is unable to substantially swell the copolymer resulting from copolymerization.

A process for the preparation of sulfonic acid type cation exchangers which comprises sulfonating with a sulfonating agent selected from the group consisting of concentrated sulphuric acid, oleum, sulfur trioxide, and chlorosulfonic acid, a cross-linked copolymer prepared by the method which comprises suspension copolymerizing in an aqueous media (1) at least 4 parts by weight of a polyvinylidene monomer containing a plurality of ethylenically unsaturated groups in a non-conjugated relationship and (2) at most 96 parts by weight of a monovinylaromatic hydrocarbon monomer said copolymerization taking place in the presence of a liquid which is substantially insoluble in the aqueous media and which is a solvent for the monomer mixture and which does not swell the copolymer resulting from said copolymerization, said liquid being chemically inert under the polymerization conditions, said liquid being present in an amount sufficient to cause separation of the copolymer from the monomer phase, said liquid constituting at least 20% and not more than 60% by weight of total weight of said liquid plus monomer mixture, and recovering the copolymers so formed.