ABSTRACT

Since the polymers within acrylic group have chain units simple in structure, they provide ideal models for the behavior of more complex materials such as the biopolymers. Polyacrylic acid plays a key role in any discussion of the properties and behavior of water-soluble synthetic polymers because it is the simplest common synthetic polycarboxylic acid. Polyacrylic acid may be prepared in the atactic form by polymerization of the monomer with conventional free radical initiators using the monomer either undiluted or in solution in water, butanone, or dioxane. Polymerization of the pure monomer in the liquid or the crystalline state initiated by irradiation with gamma rays leads in general to mixtures of the atactic and syndiotactic forms together with some cross-linked material. The esterification reaction when carried out to partial extents enables copolymers to be obtained which may have a different distribution of component monomer units from the copolymers obtained by the partial hydrolysis of PMA.