A general kinetic method to predict sequence length distributions for non-linear irreversible multicomponent polymerizations

A method to predict the sequence length distribution (SLD) for homogeneous non-linear irreversible multicomponent polymerizations is described. With more than two monomers, it also predicts chain length distributions of the sub-domains containing a prescribed sub-set of the repeating units, but in all possible orderings. Its goal is the analysis of polymerization systems involving complex kinetic schemes in an automated way. The radical terpolymerization of two vinyl monomers with a divinyl monomer and a radical copolymerization including branching by transfer to polymer and by propagation on terminal double bonds are considered as case studies showing the interest of our approach. Finally, the concept of gelation of sequences is presented and discussed in comparison with the related and better known gelation of the population of polymer molecules.