Copolymerization of sodium 11-acrylamidoundecanoate with acrylamide and the solution properties of the copolymers

Abstract

The radical copolymerization of micelle-forming sodium 11-acrylamidoundecanoate (Na 11-AAU) with acrylamide (AM) has been studied. The copolymer compositions were determined from elemental analyses and 13C NMR. The radical reactivity ratios for Na 11-AAU (M1) and AM (M2) were found to be r1 = 0.71 and r2 = 0.62. The molecular weights of the copolymers as determined by light scattering ranged from 0.88 to 1.62 × 106. The presence of AM up to 50 mol% in the feed did not seem to affect the molecular weights of the copolymers. However, the radius of gyration of the copolymers increased slightly with the increase of AM. The viscosities of the copolymer solutions also increased with AM content, but they were sharply reduced by the effect of NaCl or on aging at room temperature.