ABSTRACT
I. INTRODUCTION Due to practical significance and theoretical interest, much effort has been made to clarify the unique characteristics of metal ion/polyelectrolyte mix ture solutions in various disciplines of chemistry. Since a proper equilibrium expression for metal ion binding to polymer molecules is indispensable for the quantification of the physicochemical properties, “apparent” or “mac roscopic” equilibrium constants have been determined. Unfortunately, how ever, these “overall” constants are usually defined arbitrarily, being depen dent on the research groups, the experimental techniques, and the systems to be investigated; hence they are not comparable with each other nor re ntable to the “intrinsic” equilibrium constants defined at respective reaction sites. Compared with the situation for the equilibrium analyses of metal complexation with monomer ligands, to which the “law of mass action” can directly be applied, complete analytical treatment of the metal ion/ polyelectrolyte complexation equilibria has not yet been established even at the present time. There are essential difficulties inherent in the analyses of metal complexation equilibria in polyelectrolyte solutions.
