Kinetic studies on the radical polymerization of acrylamide initiated by Mn3+–ethoxyacetic acid redox system

The kinetics of polymerization of acrylamide (AM) initiated by manganese(III) acetate–ethoxyacetic acid (EAA) redox system in aqueous sulphuric acid was investigated in the temperature range 35–45°C. The effects of variations in monomer], Mn³⁺], EAA], H⁺], and ionic strength on the rates of monomer disappearance (R_p) and Mn³⁺ disappearance (?R_m) were studied. The polymerization process is initiated by the free radical arising from the oxidation of ethoxyacetic acid by Mn³⁺ and terminated by the mutual combination of growing polymer radicals. Based on the kinetic results, a suitable reaction scheme is proposed and the rate expressions are derived. The study on degree of polymerization supports the proposed scheme for polymerization. The various rate and thermodynamic parameters are evaluated.