Polyacrylamide

Chemical properties

white to faintly yellow granules

The Uses of Polyacrylamide

Polyacrylamide is a polymer formed from acrylamide subunits. Polyacrylamide has been extensively used in applications such as polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis.

The Uses of Polyacrylamide

Binding agent, dispersing aid, lubricant, drag reduction and crystal formation control.

The Uses of Polyacrylamide

polyacrylamide is a binder, film former, and fixative with greater use in hair and nail than in skin care preparations. It is used in some hand and body lotions and cleansing creams.

Definition

ChEBI: A macromolecule composed of repeating 1-carbamoylethylene units.

Definition

polyacrylamide: A polymerformed from 2-propenamide(CH₂:CHCONH₂). Polyacrylamide gelsare made using a cross-linking agentto form three-dimensional matrices.They are used in gel electrophoresis.

Preparation

Polyacrylamide resembles poly(acrylic acid) and poly(methacrylic acid) in being water-soluble and, as with those polymers, it is mainly this property which results in some limited commercial utilization. Polyacrylamide is prepared by free radical polymerization, using techniques essentially similar to those described for poly(acrylic acid) and poly(methacrylic acid):

It may be noted that whereas this reaction gives a vinyl polymer, a different type of polymer is obtained when polymerization is initiated by a strong base. In this case, a polyamide (nylon 3) is formed. Active initiators for this type of polymerization include alkoxides (RO-) and reaction probably takes place according to the following scheme, which involves the rearrangement of a carbanion to a more stable amide anion:

Polyacrylamide is a hard, brittle material. It is readily soluble in cold water but solubility in organic compounds is generally very limited. The polymer undergoes reactions characteristic of the amide group; for example, alkaline hydrolysis introduces carboxylic groups and reaction with formaldehyde gives methylol groups.
Polyacrylamide has found use as a ftocculant in the processing of minerals and in water treatment. Copolymers of acrylamide and acrylic acid are used to increase the dry strength of paper.

General Description

Intelligent Swelling/Collapsing copolymer that can be used as a temperature- and pH-sensitive material.

Biochem/physiol Actions

Polyacrylamide is a water-soluble polymer made up of acrylamide subunits. It increases the viscosity of water and facilitates the flocculation of particles present in water.

Properties and Applications

INDEX	Results
Appearance	White powder / Granular
Molecular Weight	5000000-30000000
Degree of Hydrolysis	6-45%
Solid Content	89% min
Dissolving Time	60 minutes max
Effective pH Range	5~14
Residual Monomer	0.1% max