Patent ID: 7399810

Claim:
A process for producing a polymer comprising the steps of (a) adding at least one low-reactivity monomer to a reaction vessel with a decreasing rate of addition, (b) adding at least one high-reactivity monomer to said reaction vessel, (i) wherein less than 1% of all of said high-reactivity monomers, by weight of high reactivity monomers, based on the weight of all said high-reactivity monomers, is added to said reaction vessel before the beginning of said step (a), and (ii) wherein at least half of all of said high-reactivity monomers, by weight of high reactivity monomers, based on the weight of all of said high-reactivity monomers, is added to said reaction vessel before the completion of said step (a), and (c) adding at least one chain regulator to said reaction vessel prior to the completion of said step (a), wherein said steps (a), (b), and (c) are performed while conditions in said reaction vessel will cause polymerization of said low-reactivity monomer and said high-reactivity monomer.