Abstract

The solution resulting from reaction between Ph 2Zn and H 2O in benzene was used by itself and separated in soluble and insoluble fractions to initiate styrene polymerization. The soluble fraction produced the largest polymer conversion while the insoluble was reponsible of the highest molecular weights. Resulting polystyrenes were atactic but up to 80-85% syndiotactic triads were detected by 1H-NMR analysis. Polystyrene obtained using benzene as solvent showed a low crystalline content while the polymer obtained using dichloromethane did not produce any crystalline fraction.