The Role of pH, Ionic Strength and Monomer Concentration on the Terpolymerization of 2-Acrylamido-2-methylpropane Sulfonic Acid, Acrylamide and Acrylic Acid

Abstract

The current study examines the effects of important factors (namely, pH, ionic strength and monomer concentration) on the terpolymerization of 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulfonic acid (AMPS), acrylamide (AAm) and acrylic acid (AAc). A good understanding of how these factor levels affect terpolymerization reactivity ratios, and terpolymer composition, microstructure and molecular weight paves the way for the synthesis of custom-made polymers for specific applications. For the range of conditions studied, ionic strength has the greatest influence on reactivity ratios; results indicate that cross-over behavior exists for AMPS-based reactivity ratios. No clear correlation is observed between pH and reactivity ratio estimates (for 5 ≤ pH ≤ 9), but parameter estimation results suggest that the incorporation of acidic comonomers (AMPS and AAc) is affected by pH within this range. Finally, monomer concentration has a dominant impact on molecular weight averages, even when other factors are varied.