Polymerization of styrene in aqueous system using a diethylzinc and 1,10-phenanthroline complex

Diethylzinc (DEZ) is highly combustible in air and easily hydrolyzed in water, therefore research using this DEZ compound in the polymerization field has hardly been conducted. The present study shows the stabilization of DEZ by forming complex with 1,10-phenanthroline and succeeded in emulsion polymerization of styrene using this diethylzinc-1,10-phenanthroline complex (Phen-DEZ). Ultra-high-molecular-weight polymers (Mw > 1 × 107) were...