Aqueous polymerization of acrylamide initiated by cerium(IV)–amino acid chelating agent redox initiators

Amino acid‐type chelating agents such as nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA), nitrilotripropionic acid (NPA), iminodiacetic acid (IDA), and ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) were used in combination with cerium(IV) ammonium nitrate [Ce(IV)] as the redox initiators for the aqueous polymerizations of acrylamide (AM). The polymerization behaviors and polymer qualities were studied as functions of the concentrations of Ce(IV), chelating agent, AM, as well as temperature. The performances of the chelating agent redox systems varied with the natures of the chelating agents. The NTA–Ce(IV) initiator showed the most promising polymerization rate and conversion. The blank tests for the reactions of cerium and chelating agents were also conducted for finding mechanism of formation of free radicals and determining their complex formation constants (K) and disproportionation constants (k_d). The mechanism for the polymerization was proposed and the kinetic parameters were evaluated. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.