Alpha-Methylstyrene
Encyclopedia
α-Methylstyrene (AMS) is a chemical intermediate used in the manufacture of plasticizers, resins and polymers. It is a co-product formed in a variation of the cumene process
. The homopolymer obtained from this monomer
, poly(α-methylstyrene), is unstable, being characterized by a low ceiling temperature
.
Cumene process
The Cumene process is an industrial process for developing phenol and acetone from benzene and propylene. The term stems from cumene , the intermediate material during the process. It was invented by Heinrich Hock in 1944 and independently by R. Ūdris and P...
. The homopolymer obtained from this monomer
Monomer
A monomer is an atom or a small molecule that may bind chemically to other monomers to form a polymer; the term "monomeric protein" may also be used to describe one of the proteins making up a multiprotein complex...
, poly(α-methylstyrene), is unstable, being characterized by a low ceiling temperature
Ceiling temperature
Ceiling temperature is a measure of the tendency of polymers to revert to their monomers. When a polymer is at its ceiling temperature, the rate of polymerization and depolymerization of the polymer are equal. Generally, the ceiling temperature of a given polymer is correlated to the steric...
.