The catalytic effect of various Cu(II) salts and Cu(II) chelate complexes of certain amino acids on the emulsion polymerization of acrylonitrile in the absence of added emulsifier was investigated in experiments. The CuSO4/glycine chelate complex was chosen for a detailed kinetic study of acrylonitrile polymerization. The polymerization was studied at varying concentrations of initiator, monomer, Cu(II), glycine, solvents, and TiO2 over a temperature range of 30-60 degrees C. The overall activation energy and the viscosity average molecular weight of the polymer were computed. From the kinetic and spectrophotometric studies, the mechanism of KHSO5 decomposition by the Cu(II)/glycine complex and initiation of polymerization was suggested.