Studies on Semiconducting, Chelating and Thermal Properties of P-Cresol- Oxamide-Formaldehyde Terpolymer Resin

The title terpolymer (p-COF-II) synthesized by the condensation of p-Cresol (p-C) and Oxamide (O) with Formaldehyde (F) in the presence of acid catalyst and using 2:1:3 molar proportions of the reacting monomers. The synthesized terpolymer resin then characterized by elemental analysis and spectral studies like IR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR and XRD. The morphology of synthesized terpolymer was studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM).The electrical property was measured over a wide range of temperature (313-403K).The plot of log  vs. 103/T of the resin is linear over a wide range of temperature showing its semiconducting nature. The chelating ion-exchange study was carried out over a wide pH range, shaking time and in media of various ionic strengths for seven metal ions Fe (III), Cu (II), Ni (II), Co (II), Zn (II), Cd (II) and Pb (II) in the form of their metal nitrate solutions. The terpolymer showed a higher selectivity for Fe (III), Cu (II), and Ni (II) ions. Thermal study of the resin was carried out to determine its mode of decomposition and thermal stability. By using data of thermogravimetry various kinetic parameter like frequency factor (Z), entropy change (S), free energy change (F) and apparent entropy (S*) have been determined using Freeman-Carroll method.