Kinetic model of hyperbranched polymers formed by self-condensing vinyl polymerization of AB∗ monomers in the presence of multifunctional core molecules with different reactivities

Hyperbranched polymers formed by the self-condensing vinyl polymerization, SCVP, of AB∗ monomers in presence of trifunctional C3∗ cores with various reactivities were studied by means of the kinetic model. The changes of the degree of polymerization, polydispersity, degree of branching, and structural units of the hyperbranched polymers with the conversions were all investigated by the generating function method. By the addition of the cores with higher reactivity, the molecular weight distribution of the hyperbranched polymers can be further narrowed, and the degree of branching is only slightly lower than that without core monomers. At full conversion of A, the polydispersity index of the hyperbranched polymers formed by the SCVP is lower than that by the AB2–C3 copolymerization studied before.