Polymers bearing widely spaced hydroxamic acid (HA) groups were synthesized by copolymerization of the iV-hydroxysuccinimide ester of iV-methacryloyl-d-alanine with acrylamide, followed by treatment with methylhydroxylamine. The HA content of the three copolymers was measured spectrophotometrically, using the 504 nm absorption of the 1:1 HA-Fem complex. The copolymers contained 0.749, 0.259, and 1.80 mol % HA units, and their intrinsic viscosities in water at 30 °C were 0.58,1.86, and 0.52 dL/g, respectively. The effect of the HA:Fe ratio and the overall polymer concentration on the intrinsic viscosity was studied. At high concentrations of polymer, addition of iron (III) caused [ ] to increase up to a maximum at an HA:Fe ratio of 3:1. Below the 3:1 ratio, [ ] decreased rapidly back to the value of the original solution. At low concentrations of polymer, addition of iron caused a decrease in [ ] to a minimum at an HA:Fe ratio of 3:1. Below 3:1, [ ] increased back to the values of the original solution. At higher concentrations, the probability of intermolecular complexation is high, resulting in cross-linking and increasing [??]. At lower