Complexation Equilibrium Constants of Poly(vinyl alcohol)-Borax Dilute Aqueous Solutions – Consideration of Electrostatic Charge Repulsion and Free Ions Charge Shielding Effect

Equilibrium dialysis experiments of dilute poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) in borax aqueous solution (PVA concentration was 2 g/L and borax concentration ranged from 0.0 M to 0.05 M) were carried out to determine the concentration of free borate ions in equilibrium with the PVA-borate complex at 25 °C, and hence the amount of borate bound to PVA. The binding isotherm of borate ion on PVA molecules was investigated. The concentration of borate ion bound on PVA was found to increase with increasing borax concentration and reached an asymptote at high borax concentrations. The complexation equilibrium constant between borate and PVA diol was found to decrease initially then increases and finally decreases with increasing borax concentration while PVA concentration was fixed in a constant value. The equlibrium constant of free borate ion with borate-PVA diol complex was a balance result of excluded volume of PVA molecular chains, electrostatic charge repulsion between free borate ions and borate-PVA diol complexes, and electro-shielding of free Na+ ions on negatively charged PVA-borate complexes. In this study, the electrostatic charge repulsion between free borate ions and borate-PVA diol complex ions and free Na+ ions shielding effect are considered in the estimation of equilibrium constants of PVA diol-borate complexation. A fixed value of equilibrium constant is obtained with increasing borax concentration while borax concentraion is below a critical concentration [borax]crt. As borax cocentration is higher than [borax]crt, a lots of PVA diols form complexes with borate ions and a high shielding of free Na+ ions on negatively charged borate-PVA diol complexes causes the PVA-borate complexes to behave like neutral polymers. Few free PVA diol binding sites are available for reaction with free borate ions while borax concentration is higher than [borax]crt resulting in a decrease in equilibrium constant with increasing borax concentration.