Heats of polymerization of acrylic acid and derivatives

Abstract The heats of polymerization of acrylic acid, methyl acrylate, methacrylic acid, and methyl methacrylate have been measured. Values for the heat of polymerization of unstrained polymer molecules have been calculated, and the low heat of polymerization of methyl methacrylate has been attributed to the presence of steric hindrance in the polymer molecule.