Conformation of poly(methacrylic acid) in alcohol–water mixtures. II. Methanol,ethanol, n-propanol,and 1,2-ethanediol

The intrinsic viscosity of poly(methacrylic acid) has been studied in mixtures of 0.002N HCI and a series of aliphatic alcohols. The behavior found previously with ethanol is shown to apply in the case of admixture with methanol, n-propanol, and 1,2-ethanediol. The intrinsic viscosity first drops to a minimum and then increases sharply to a maximum. With ethanol and n-propanol the maximum is followed by another minimum and maximum. With methanol and 1,2-ethanediol this effect is absent or much smaller. Methanol and 1,2-ethanediol are equivalent, molecule for molecule, in their influence on the intrinsic viscosity. With ethanol and n-propanol there are in addition one and two shoulders, respectively, in the passage from the first minimum to the first maximum. Good correlation of the data is obtained if alcohol concentration is plotted as the mole fraction of carbon atoms per OH group (in the alcohol). The first maximum in particular was shown to correspond to the point where the number of water molecules per alcohol in the solvent mixture equals the number of C atoms per hydroxyl in the alcohol. The shoulders and first minima were found to correspond to other simple ratios. This behavior reflects changes in alcohol–water structure. The maximum in the case of ethanol was found to be the most pronounced and ethanol seems to possess optimal properties from this point of view.