STUDIES ON THE PHYSICOCHEMICAL NATURE OF YTTRIUM AND CUPRIC ION CROSS-LINKED GUARGUM-G-ACRYLAMIDE GEL SYSTEMS

Polyacrylamide grafted guargum (G-g-Am) is an efficient polymer for bi nding polyvalent metal ions. But the complete understanding of ion bin ding by G-g-Am for Y3+ and Cu2+ ions is until now unexplored. In the p resent investigation the nature of the ion binding has been studied on the basis of IR spectral data and the results have been used to corre late theological, thermal and scanning electron microscopic data. It h as been shown that the carboxylate ion of the polyacrylamide chain of G-g-Am takes part in ion binding either as a bridging ligand or as a c helating ligand.