Studies on aqueous polymerization of acrylamide, 2. Potassium persulfate/2‐mercaptoethanol redox system

The polymerization of acrylamide in aqueous media initiated by the potassium persulfate/2‐mercaptoethanol redox pair was studied at 30°C under nitrogen atmosphere. The initial rate of polymerization was found to be proportional to nearly the 1,5th power of the potassium persulfate concentration within the range of 0,6 to 2,0 mmol l−1 and to the first power of acrylamide concentration in the range of 0,1 to 0,14 mol l−1. The rate was also found to be proportional to the first power of the 2‐mercaptoethanol concentration within the range 4,0 to 8,0 mmol l−1. The overall activation energy was found to be 134 kJ mol−1. Further the effect of salts (NaCl, KCl, NH4Cl, Na2C2O4, K2C2O4·H2O, (NH4)2C2O4,MnSO4·4H2O, and NaF) and aliphatic alcohols (methanol, ethanol, and propanol) was tested.