The kinetics of polyesterification. I. Adipic acid and ethylene glycol

The polyesterification between adipic acid and ethylene glycol in nonequimolar ratios was investigated. The kinetic equations obtained were quite different from those obtained by Flory in equimolar systems. The kinetic equations obtained in this study were −d[COOH]/dt = k[COOH][OH]2 for uncatalyzed polyesterification and −d[COOH]/dt = k[COOH]2 for catalyzed polyesterification. The mechanism of the polyesterification of a dibasic acid and a glycol can only be explained by the dissociation effect of hydrogen ion from dibasic acid in glycol.