Salt resistivity of poly (4-vinyl benzoic acid) gel

Salt resistivity of poly (4-vinyl benzoic acid) (P4VBA) gel was investigated to compare with the super salt-resistivity that was found for poly (4-vinyl phenol)(P4VPh) gel containing an acidic proton and π-electron system. Poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) gel was also prepared and used as a reference gel containing only an acidic proton. P4VBA gel showed a moderate salt resistivity, which was less significant than that for P4VPh gel, in many kinds of inorganic salt solutions (MgCl₂, LiCl, NaCl, KCl, CsCl, KI, KSCN, Na₂SO₄). On the other hand, PAA gel showed a drastic deswelling in the presence of concentrated MgCl₂, LiCl, Na₂SO₄, and (NH₄)₂SO₄ solutions, and a significant swelling for KSCN solution. These contrastive behaviors between P4VBA and PAA gels strongly suggest that the combination of acidic proton and π-electron system is essential and necessary for polymer gels to be endowed with the salt resistivity.