Crosslinking of Styrene Homopolymers and Copolymers by p-Di(chloromethyl) Benzene

This thesis is principally concerned with the kinetics of the crosslinking of polystyrene using p-di(chloromethyl)benzene (DCMB), in the presence of a Friedel-Crafts catalyst, and the effect of this crosslinking on the thermal properties of polystyrene. As the polymerisation of styrene and the condensation of DCMB with aromatic nuclei can both be initiated by Friedel-Crafts catalysts, an attempt was made to produce crosslinked polystyrene by mixing styrene DCMB and stannic chloride in 1,2-dichloroethane (DCE) at 30