The effects of concentration, relative permittivity, and temperature on the transport properties of sodium polystyrenesulphonate in 2-ethoxyethanol–water mixed solvent media

Precise measurements on the electrical conductivity of solutions of sodium polystyrenesulphonate in 2-ethoxyethanol–water mixed solvent media containing 10, 25, 40 and 50 wt% of 2-ethoxyethanol at 308.15, 313.15, 318.15, and 323.15 K are reported here. The degree of substitution of sodium polystyrenesulphonate used was 1, and the concentrations were varied from ∼1 × 10−4 to ∼1 × 10−2 equiv. l−1. The results showed a slight and monotonous increase in the equivalent conductivity with decreasing polyelectrolyte concentration. The applicability of the Manning’s theory for salt-free polyelectrolyte solutions was examined and a major discrepancy against the theory was observed. The calculated values of the equivalent conductivity deduced on the basis of this theory were found to be lower than the experimental ones. Possible reasons for this discrepancy have been discussed. A semi quantitative description of the experimental data is, however, obtained by adjusting the charge density parameter. The effects of the temperature and relative permittivity of the medium on the equivalent conductivity were also investigated.