Poly(ethylene oxide)‐ and poly (acrylamide)‐based water‐soluble associative polymers: synthesis, characterisation, properties in solution

Abstract

The association behaviour of hydrophobically modified water‐soluble polymers in aqueous solutions and its manifestation in the rheological properties are discussed. In particular, solutions of (i) end‐hydrophobically modified poly(ethylene oxide) and (ii) poly(acrylamide) with grafted hydrophobic side‐chains are considered. We demonstrate that balance between intra‐ and inter‐molecular aggregation and, as a result, rheological behaviour in the solution depend both on polymer architecture and strength of hydrophobic interactions which can be tuned by variation in, e.g., salinity or temperature. Copyright © 2006 Society of Chemical Industry