Activator compositions and their use in emulsion polymerization

Claim 1

A PROCESS FOR POLYMERIZING AN ORGANIC MONOMERIC MATERIAL COMPRISING AN UNSATURATED ORGANIC COMPOUND CONTAINING A CH2=C< GROUP WHILE DISPERSED IN AN AQUEOUS MEDIUM, WHICH COMPRISES POLYMERIZING SUCH A MONOMERIC MATERIAL WHILE DISPERSED IN AN AQUEOUS MEDIUM IN THE PRESENCE OF AN OXIDANT AND IN THE PRESENCE OF AN ACTIVATOR COMPOSITION PREPARED BY DISSOLVING IN WATER A SALT OF A MULTIVALENT METAL CAPABLE OF EXISTING IN TWO VALENCE STATES UNDER SUCH CONDITIONS THAT IT IS PRESENT AT LEAST IN PART IN A LOWER VALENCE STATE TOGETHER WITH A PYROPHOSPHATE OF A MONOVALENT CATION SELECTED FROM THE CLASS CONSISTING OF ALKALI METALS AND AMMONIUM AND WITH A DIFFERENT SALT OF A MONOVALENT CATION SELECTED FROM THE CLASS CONSISTING OF ALKALI METALS AND AMMONIUM AND AN ANION WHICH IS INERT WITH RESPECT TO SAID MULTIVALENT METAL, HEATING SAID SOLUTION OUT OF CONTACT WITH FREE OXYGEN TO A TEMPERATURE BETWEEN 40 AND 100* C. FOR 5 TO 90 MINUTES AND SUBSEQUENTLY COOLING THE RESULTING SOLUTION, AND SO INCORPORATING SAID SOLUTION IN SAID POLYMERIZATION ALONG WITH SAID OXIDANT THAT THERE IS ADDED, BASED UPON 100 PARTS BY WEIGHT OF SAID MONOMERIC MATERIAL, 0.01 TO 3 MILLIMOL PARTS OF SAID MULTIVALENT METAL, PYROPHOSPHATE AND OXIDANT AND 0.1 TO 5 PARTS OF SAID DIFFERENT SALT.