Aqueous polymerization of acrylamide

Abstract

Abstract The polymerization of acrylamide (I) initiated by a potassium bromate—thioglycollic acid (TGA) redox pair has been studied in aqueous media at 30°C in a nitrogen atmosphere. The reaction order related to the catalyst concentration (KBrO 3 ) was 0.501, which indicated a bimolecular mechanism for the termination reaction in the range of 1.0−3.0 × 10 −3 mole/liter. The polymerization rate varied linearly with monomer (I) concentration over the range of 1.0−5.0 × 10 −2 mole/liter. A typical behavior is observed, however, by changing the thioglycollic acid concentration. The initial rate of polymerization (Ri), as well as the maximum conversion, increases by increasing the temperature to 30°C, but the initial rate and the maximum conversion falls as the temperature rises above 30°C. The overall energy of activation is 6.218 kcal in the temperature range of 20–40°C. Water‐miscible organic solvents, namely, CH 3 OH and C 2 H 5 OH, depress the rate of polymerization.