POLYMERIZATION KINETICS OF ACRYLAMIDE IN MICELLES AND MICROEMULSIONS

The polymerization kinetics of acrylamide was investigated in the syst em of cetyltrimethyltetrammonium bromide-water micelles. The maximal p olymerization rate was found at the second critical micelle concentrat ion. A square-root dependence of the polymerization rates, R(p), on th e initiator concentrations was obtained. Polymerization in microemulsi ons was also investigated to establish a connection between the struct ures of microemulsions and polymerization reaction rate. The microemul sions consisted of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, n-butanol, n-octane and water. Their structures were determined by conductivity measureme nts. Our results showed that maximal polymerization rates occurred at two transition points from water in oil (W/O) to bicontinuous (BC) and from bicontinuous (BC) to oil in water (O/W). At the same time, we al so found that the polyacrylamide molecular weights depended on the str uctures of microemulsions. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd.