Some Aspects of the Reaction of Polyacrylamide with Formaldehyde

The reaction of polyacrylamide with formaldehyde was studied in a neutral aqueous medium at equal initial molar concentrations of amide groups and of formaldehyde (0.05 mol/L) and in a range of temperatures from 45 to 75°C. The process was investigated by measuring the loss of free formaldehyde in the reaction mixture and the changes of the sum of free formaldehyde and methylol groups versus time. The addition of HCHO to an amide function of the polymer leads to its N-methylol derivative which may transform into the product of condensation between the latter and another amide group. Because of high dilution of polyacrylamide macromolecules in the reaction mixtures studied, cross-linking of the polymer chains with formaldehyde is rather unlikely. Therefore the disappearance of the N-methylols formed is probably due to some intramolecular reactions. It is believed that they involve the condensation of N-hydroxymethyls with neighboring amide groups which results in cyclic structures containing methylenediamide sequences. The occurrence of intramolecular reactions was confirmed by applying Flory's theory of gelation. The addition of HCHO to amide functions is a rate-determining stage in the case of polyacrylamide. For this reaction the rate constants were estimated and the corresponding activation energy was found to be 62 kJ/mol.