Mark–Houwink–Sakurada constants and dilute solution behavior of heterodisperse poly(acrylamide-co-sodium acrylate) in 0.5M and 1M NaCl

Abstract

Mark Houwink coefficients and molecular size parameters are presented for 31 unfractionated samples of polyacrylamide and hydrolyzed polyacrylamide in 0.5M and 1M aqueous NaCl. Polymers investigated include polyacrylamide, plus 10, 20, 50, 70, and 100 mol % poly(sodium acrylate). Their solution characteristics were studied by gel permeation chromatography, intrinsic viscosity, and light scattering techniques. A density function and heterodispersity index was assigned to each polymer sample due to the polydispersity of the molecular weight distributions. This technique improves the intrinsic viscosity–molecular weight correlation for heterodisperse commercially synthesized polymer systems. The intrinsic viscosity of these commercial compounds will yield useful estimates of their molecular weight, in spite of their obvious heterogeneity.