Dispersion Polymerization of Acrylamide in Methanol/Water Media

Dispersion polymerization of acrylamide was carried out in the media of methyl alcohol/$H_2O$ mixtures using hydroxypropyl cellulose and ammonium persulfate as steric stabilizer and initiator, respectively. The effects of concentrations of initiator and steric stabilizer, amount of monomer, polymerization temperature, methyl alcohol/$H_2O$ ratio, and purification of monomer and nitrogen purge on the particle size of the latices and molecular weight of the polymers were investigated. The average particle diameter increased with increasing concentration of initiator, water content in methyl alcohol/$H_2O$ media, and polymerization temperature, but decreased with monomer and stabilizer concentrations. The viscosity average molecular weight increased with increasing concentrations of monomer, steric stabilizer, and water content in dispersion media, but decreased with initiator concentration and polymerization temperature. The PAM polymers prepared with the purified monomer and the nitrogen purging before the reaction showed the highest molecular weight.