Abstract

Poly(acrylamide-co-4-vinylpyridine) synthesized by radical bulk polymerization behaves in water as a typical polyelectrolyte. According to the viscosimetric studies, the addition of strong electrolytes, like KNO3 (0.1 M), completely suppressed the polyelectrolyte effect. The interactions between this copolymer and a number of metal ions were also studied by viscosimetry in aqueous solution. The reduced viscosity decreased with an increase of the copper(II) concentration due to an intrapolymeric complex formation. It was shown that the reduced viscosity of the polymer-metal complexes depends on the pH. It decreased for a constant ratio between the copolymer and the metal ions Fe3+, Co2+, Ni2+, Cu2+, and Zn2+. Among these cations, Cu2+ showed the strongest effect. These results were compared with the corresponding data of both homopolymers. © 1998, Hüthig & Wepf Verlag.