ABSTRACT
One of the main factors influencing the mechanism of radical polymerization is the presence of inhibitors. Inhibitors can be used as a tool for studying the polymerization mechanism. Inhibitors prevent undesirable formation of high-molecular products during synthesis, purification and storage of monomers. The most widely used inhibitors for radical polymerization of vinyl monomers include oxygen, quinones, phenols, aromatic amines, nitro compounds, salts of transition metals. There are a small number of works devoted to the study of the relation between the structure of polycondensated aromatic hydrocarbons and their ability to inhibit the polymerization of vinyl monomers. Aromatic amines and phenols are often united into a single group of inhibitors in spite of their different structures. If there is oxygen in the compounds they effectively inhibit radical polymerization, however if there is no oxygen these compounds demonstrate properties of weak inhibitors. Amines as well as phenols are inclined to hydrogen bond with peroxide radicals and contribute to the increased inhibition rate.
