Synthesis and solution behaviour of temperature sensitive water soluble polymers bearing alkylaryl hydrophobes

Abstract

A kind of temperature sensitive polymers of acrylamide (AM) and 3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl urethane (macromer) were synthesised by free radical aqueous solution copolymerisation. Their molecular structures were verified by 1H NMR and fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Some factors affecting synthesis, such as macromer content, initiator concentration, reaction temperature as well as solution behaviours of these polymers were studied. The results show that these factors have significant effect on the performance of the products, the optimum reaction conditions are 1·8 mol-% macromer, 0·4 wt-% initiator and 35°C. The copolymer solutions exhibit good thermothickening behaviour. Even at 0·15 wt-% polymer solution, a typical thermothickening behaviour can be seen. The higher the polymer concentration, the more prominent the thermothickening behaviour of polymer solution. The polymer solutions show shear thickening behaviour.