Polyelectrolyte behavior and macromolecular properties of sodium amylopectin xanthate in dilute solution

Sodium amylopectin xanthate was prepared by xanthation of potato amylopectin in alkaline medium. The pure product was characterized by I 2 solution and ultraviolet spectra of the xanthate groups. The polyelectrolyte behavior of Na amylopectin xanthate in aqueous and salt solutions was investigated by viscometry and light scattering. Its polyelectrolyte behavior in aqueous solution as studied viscometrically was completely different from that of Na amylose xanthate, which is characteristic of linear polyelectrolyte molecules. This difference in behavior could be partly due to the branched structure of amylopectin molecule. A dissymmetry study of Na amylopectin xanthate in aqueous and salt solutions, however, showed that Na amylopectin xanthate molecule underwent expansion in water by about 1.3 times its linear dimension in 0.5 M NaCl (unperturbed value). Light‐scattering measurements confirmed that the Na amylopectin xanthate molecule had a polydisperse random‐coil chain configuration in 0.25 M NaCl. Its molecular weight, end‐to‐end length, and other parameters in salt and alkali solutions were also determined, and the data were then compared with those of Na amylose xanthate in the same media. The solution behavior of Na amylopectin xanthate in 1 M NaOH was further investigated and linear expansion factor α, excluded volume factor A 2 M W /[η], and Flory's hydrodynamic constant φ were evaluated.