Shaghayegh Hamzehlou and Stefano Lazzari
acknowledge the financial support from the Marie Curie Actions
(initial training network Nanopoly PITN-GA-2009-238700)
The predictions of four different models of crosslinking copolymerization, Kinetic Monte Carlo (KMC), statistic/kinetic Flory/Tobita (FT) model, and two kinetic approaches based on
population balance equations (PBE) (solved with generating functions (GF) and numerical
fractionation (MRNF), respectively), were compared.
The approaches underlying more restrictive
assumptions but asking for less computational
effort, FT and MRNF, lead to very
satisfactory predictions in terms of average
properties (sol and gel fractions, degrees of
polymerizations, crosslinking densities). On the
other hand, fully detailed models (KMC) as well as
more computationally demanding numerical
solutions of the detailed PBE (GF) become necessary
when the chain length distributions are
required.
