Study of radical polymerization by means of ESR. I. Homogeneous polymerization of styrene

Abstract An extremely sensitive instrument for ESR measurements in liquid media was developed on the basis of a new principle of registration of the ESR signals. By means of this device the spectrum of macroradicals of polymerizing styrene was recorded, and the stationary concentration of growing chains was measured quantitatively. Thus the first direct data for the chain propagation constant of the radical polymerization of styrene were obtained.