A study of an azonitrile containing a sizable fluorocarbon group

The azonitrile of formula (C8F17·[CH2]2·O·CO·[CH2]2·C(CH3)(CN):N:)2 was used to initiate radical polymerizations of styrene and methyl methacrylate at 60°C. It was shown that transfer to initiator and primary radical termination can be neglected for those systems. Fluorine-containing end-groups in the resulting polymers could be easily detected by 19F-NMR, but there were some uncertainties about quantitative determinations; they may have resulted from the presence of impurities in the initiator.