Synthesis of hydrophobically modified poly(acrylamides) in water-in-oil emulsions

High-molecular-mass hydrophobically modified poly(acrylamides) have been prepared via water-in-oil miniemulsion copolymerization of acrylamide and lauryl methacrylate initiated by 2,2′-azoisobutyronitrile. The incorporation of the hydrophobic comonomer into the polymer backbone is indirectly confirmed by the rheological and associative properties of polymer solutions. The copolymers prepared from the reaction mixtures containing less than 5 mol % lauryl methacry late demonstrate the associative behavior in aqueous solutions, as evidenced by fluorescence spectroscopy (a decrease in the polarity parameter of pyrene), static and dynamic light scattering (overestimated effective molecular masses and appearance of a peak due to aggregates), and rheological measurements (a rise of viscosity relative to that of the acrylamide homopolymer). A further increase in the content of lauryl methacrylate leads to formation of polymers possessing limited solubility in water. At the acrylamide-to-hydrophobic monomer equimolar ratio, homopolymers arise along with the insoluble copolymer.