Thermodynamic characterization of rare Earth salts of strong polyacid copolymers

Stoichiometric La3+, Ce3+, and Nd3+ salts of poly[(vinyl alcohol)-co-(vinyl sulfate)] (PVAS) copolymer polyacids have been studied in aqueous solution without added salt. All LnPVAS salts were entirely water-soluble in the composition and concentration range investigated. Ratios of the vinyl sulfate and vinyl alcohol units in the copolymers were between 1:5 and 1:107, leading to structural charge densities both above and under the critical value needed for counterion condensation of trivalent counterions. Solvent activity, a1, has been measured by the gel deswelling method in the concentration range of 5 x 10(-4) to 1 x 10(-1) mol of counterion/kg of water (0.2-9 w/w% of the polyelectrolyte). Results are unusually high for polyelectrolytes (-2 x 10(-6) > ln a1 > -3 x 10(-4)), and they are comparable with values determined in solutions of uncharged polymers. Nevertheless, the different copolymers can be clearly distinguished; the water activity is lowered in the order of the vinyl sulfate content of the polyelectrolytes, except for the one above the critical charge density. No observable difference was caused in the thermodynamic properties by the different lanthanide counterions. Reduced osmotic pressure curves and Flory-Huggins pair interaction parameters have been calculated; both of them were used to estimate degrees of dissociation at zero as well as at finite concentrations. Degrees of dissociation are decreasing with increasing concentration or vinyl sulfate content of the copolymer. They take values between 8-36% at zero polymer concentration and they reach zero value simultaneously at approximately 1 x 10(-3) mol of polymer chains/kg of water. The average number of released counterions per polymer chain (DPn = 1005) approaches to a limit of about 4.4 with increasing vinyl sulfate content. This corresponds to average charge distances of b > or = 19 nm and charge density parameters of xi < or = 0.037. The latter is, however, a very low value and indicates a 1/9 contraction compared to the rod-like assumption.