Coordinated radical polymerization and redox polymerization of acrylamide by ceric ammonium nitrate

The ceric salt‐initiated polymerization on acrylamide and graft copolymerization of acrylamide onto cellulose were studied. The mechanism of the ceric salt‐initiated polymerization of acrylamide in the homopolymerization system can be explained by a radical mechanism based upon Ce4+‐coordinated acrylamide, and the mechanism of the ceric salt‐initiated graft copolymerization of acrylamide onto cellulose can be explained in two ways: a free‐radical mechanism with the ceric—cerous redox system, and a radical mechanism based upon Ce4+‐coordinated acrylamide. The velocities of initiation, propagation, and termination in the redox mechanism are quite different from those in the coordinated radical mechanism. From the infrared absorption and nuclear magnetic resonance spectra measurements it is concluded that the structure of the ceric‐coordinated acrylamide is the π‐complex.