| Abstract: | The effect of structure on the ability of hydroxamic acid polymers to chelate iron(III) was examined. The polymers were derived from acryloyl or methacryloyl backbones that bore side chains terminated in hydroxamic acids. The side chain length, which establishes the atomic chain distances between hydroxamic acid groups, had the most pronounced effect on the stability constant of the iron chelate. It was this atomic chain distance that determined how easily the three neighboring hydroxamic acids could fit the octahedral sphere of the iron. Other structural changes such as the presence or absence of methyl groups on the backbone or on the hydroxamic acid nitrogen had little measurable effect. The stability of the iron complexes appeared to be optimum at an 11-atom spacing between hydroxamic acids and decreased with shorter or longer spacing distances. |
