Kinetic study of the aqueous electropolymerization of acrylamide, acrylonitrile andN,N′-methylene-bisacrylamide on an aluminium alloy cathode

Abstract

This study concerns the potassium persulphate electroinitiated polymerization of acrylamide, acrylonitrile andN, N′-methylene-bisacrylamide on a 5182 aluminium-magnesium alloy. Kinetic studies of the polymerization gave the polymerization as -d[M]/dt=K(CD)^0.99 [Persulphate]^1.12 [M]^2.33, whereCD is current density (mA cm⁻²), [M] is monomer concentration (mol cm⁻³),K is a constant andt is time (s). It is proposed that the thick swollen polymer coating restricted the diffusion of monomers and initiators to the electrode. The problem of mass transfer by diffusion in the present system was confirmed by measurements of the diffusion coefficient and by electron transfer fraction experiments carried out through the use of a cyclic voltammetry technique.