Kinetics of polymer gelation

The kinetics of polymer growth and especially gelation are discussed for a system of reacting f-functional monomeric units. The gelation models of Flory and Stockmayer are examined, and their implications concerning sol–gel interaction after gelation has occurred are clarified. A new model, in which the gel does not cross link, is considered. A mathematical analysis shows that the onset of gelation is related to the formation of a shock-wave solution of the equation satisfied by the generation function.