Magnetic field effects on the homo and copolymerization of acrylamide and ionic monomers

IGNACIO RINTOUL; CHRISTINE WANDREY

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Congreso; World Polymer Congress MACRO 2006, 41th IUPAC International Symposium on Macromolecules; 2006

Brazilian Polymer Association and the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC).

Selected for oral presentation. The simultaneous effect of magnetic field (MF) and electrostatic interactions on the kinetics and mechanism of the radical homo and copolymerization of water-soluble and ionic monomers was investigated. Acrylic acid (AA), its ionized form acrylate (A-), and diallyldimethylammonium chloride (DADMAC) were selected for homo and copolymerization case studies. Acrylamide (AM) was used as comomoner and reference. Thermal and photochemically initiated polymerizations were performed varying the magnetic field intensity, pH, ionic strength, monomer and initiator concentration, as well as the viscosity and temperature of the medium. Applying a magnetic field of 0.1 Tesla considerably increased the polymerization rate of AA over the entire pH range 2 to 12, as well as the monomer consumption rates in all copolymerizations, while not affecting the reaction order of AA, A-, DADMAC, and AM, and the copolymer compositions. Enhanced initiator efficiency and reduced termination rate coefficients but unchanged propagation rate coefficients were concluded from kinetic analyses to cause the effects. Increasing the viscosity of the medium by neutral inert additives intensified the MF effect. Increase of the molar mass was proved in some cases.