PHOTOINITIATED INVERSE EMULSION POLYMERIZATION OF SODIUM ACRYLATE

Photoinitiated inverse emulsion polymerization of sodium acrylate(AANa)in kerosene was carried out at room orlower temperature,using 2,2-dimethoxy-2-phenylacetophenone(DMPA)as the initiator.Kinetic investigations indicated thatthe polymerization could be completed in about 30 min and produce polymer with high molecular weight(10~6～10~7).It wasfound that monomer droplets are the main sites for the polymerization(nucleation).With the increase of DMPAconcentration,polymerization rate(R_p)reaches a maximum value while molecular weight of the produced polymer has anadverse result,but the dependence of R_p on incident light intensity is similar.Influences of other parameters such asmonomer concentration,emulsifier content and reaction temperature,etc.were also studied.At lower pH values of waterphase,R_p depends strongly on the pH due to the electrostatic interaction between the ionized radicals and the monomer.Athigher pH,R_p shows a slight dependence on pH.

STUDY ON ACRYLAMIDE-SODIUM ACRYLATE COPOLYMER GELS

Acrylamide-sodium acrylate copolymer hydrogels have been obtained by radiation techniques. Two different methods have been used to introduce—COONa groups into polymer chains of the gels: (1) by partial hydrolysis of acrylamide homopolymer gel; (2) by direct copolymerization and crosslinking of acrylamide and sodium acrylate in aqueous solutions. It was found that the gels obtained in different ways had different properties, the swelling character of the gels obtained by partial hydrolysis were more sensitive to pH of swelling aqueous media, in order to explain these differences, ^(13)C-NMR techniques were used to investigate the sequence distribution of monomer units of both gels.

MODIFICATION OF POLYETHYLENE BY in situ FORMED SODIUM ACRYLATE

To improve the water tree resistance of PE, linear low-density polyethylene （LLDPE） was compounded with sodium acrylate （NaAA） for in situ polymerization, in which NaAA was fbrmed through the neutralization of acrylic acid （AA） with sodium hydroxide （NaOH） before adding dicumyl peroxide （DCP） to initiate the in situ graft polymerization and homo polymerization. A series of LLDPE/NaAA compounds were investigated for their water absorption ratio （WAR） measurement, water treeing, mechanical and dielectric properties. The results strongly suggest that NaAA can improve the water tree resistance of LLDPE. In addition, the LLDPE/NaAA compounds possess satisfactory mechanical properties and dielectric properties. Characterization of LLDPE/NaAA compounds by using Fourier transform infrared spectrometry （FTIR） suggests that the neutralization and polymerization reaction could be achieved effectively. Using adequate DCP content is the key factor for controlling the polymerization of NaAA with precise conversion ratio.

Experimental studies on extraction of cobalt ions from dilute aqueous solutions by using complexation-ultrafiltration process

The extraction of cobalt ions from dilute aqueous solutions was investigated by ultrafiltration with the help of poly(acrylic acid)sodium salt(PAASS).Polysulfone and polyethersulfone hollow fiber ultrafiltration membranes were employed in this process.The kinetics of complexation reaction was studied for PAASS with Co^(2+).Results showed that,under a large excess of PAASS,it takes 65,55 and 40 min at pH 5,6 and 7,respectively,to get the equilibrium of complexation.The reaction kinetics can be described by a pseudo-first-order equation.Then,the effects of various parameters on the extraction of Co^(2+)were examined in detail.Results indicated that loading ratio,pH value and low-molecular competitive complexing agent affect significantly cobalt rejection coefficient R.Furthermore,a concentration experiment was carried out at pH 7.With increasing volume concentration factor,membrane flux declines slowly,and R value is always about 1.The concentrated retentate was used further for a decomplexation experiment.The decomplexation ratio of cobalt-PAASS complex reaches as high as 90.1%.After the decomplexation step,a diafiltration experiment was performed at pH 2.5.Cobalt ions can be extracted satisfactorily from the retentate,and a purified PAASS is obtained.