Kinetics of the homogeneous interaction of polyvinyl alcohol with formaldehyde in aqueous solutions

Abstract

1. The rate of consumption of formaldehyde in the reaction with polyvinyl alcohol and with 1, 3-butylene glycol in aqueous solution is described by a first-order reaction equation with respect to the aldehyde concentration, first-order with respect to the concentration of the alcoholic hydroxyl groups; it depends on the acidity of the solution as the rate of reactions specifically catalyzed by hydrogen ions. 2. The increased rate of reaction of polyvinyl alcohol and 1,3-butylene glycol with formaldehyde in comparison with monohydric alcohols indicates that protonated formaldehyde can interact with substances containing hydroxyl groups in the 1,3-position in one step, forming a cyclic acetal splitting out an oxonium ion. 3. Considering the dependence of the Hammett acidity function H0 on the temperature, we determined the activation energy of the interaction of polyvinyl alcohol with formaldehyde (E=17.4 kcal/mole).