THE INFLUENCE OF POLYMER ARCHITECTURE ON INHIBITION OF AMORPHOUS CALCIUM PHOSPHATE PRECIPITATION

Abstract

The influence of polymer architecture on the precipitation of amorphous calcium phosphate from supersaturated solutions has been investigated using the pH-stat technique. It has been found that low concentration of acrylic acid based copolymers and terpolymers markedly inhibit the precipitation of calcium phosphate. Homopolymers containing anionic, non-ionic, and cationic groups under similar experimental conditions are inefficient as calcium phosphate inhibitors. The inhibition data of several polymers indicate that the performance of polymers depends upon the functional group, ionic charge, and the molecular weight. In addition, it has been found that cationic flocculants and biocides when present at low concentrations exhibit strong antagonistic effect on the performance of calcium phosphate inhibiting polymers.