Hydrolysis of Polyacrylamide in the Presence of Nano-Sized Copper Particles

The process of hydrolysis of amide groups of polyacrylamide in the presence of a dispersion of nanosized copper particles obtained via the reduction of copper cations with sodium tetraborate has been studied. Quantum-chemical simulations have shown an increase in the effective positive charge on the carbon atom in the amide group upon formation of the complex with copper. Energy of interaction of units of polyacrylamide and polyacrylic acid macromolecules with a unit area of copper nanoparticles has been calculated. The significant difference in the energies leads to replacement of the hydrolyzed amide groups of the polymer from the surface of copper particles by the unreacted amide groups. The degree of hydrolysis of polyacrylamide in the presence of copper particles has been 89%, being 22% in the absence of the particles.