Carboxylic Polymer Research Paper

Carboxylic polymers are used as thickeners, suspending agents and stabilizers. They are utilized in a wide variety of personal care products, pharmaceuticals and household cleaners. Most Carboxylic polymers are high molecular weight acrylic acid chains, usually cross-linked with polufunctional allylic ethers, and are available as powders or liquids [1-4]. They are also used to stabilize, suspend, and control the release of pharmaceutical products [5-6]. At low concentrations, suspensions flow easily with a slippery feel. At higher concentrations, high viscosity varieties form gels that are pseudoplastic. The typical powder is very light and fluffy, forming clouds of airborne dust if not handled carefully. It tends to float on water, requiring

Patents [5,19,21,22]. The high thickening efficiency of these polymers is achieved by crosslinking acrylic acid based polymers with a polyalkenyl polyether or polyhydric alcohol. The crosslinking renders the polymers water-swellable or water-dispersible [4,7,24].Other known carboxylic polymers which maintain viscosities in aqueous solutions containing inorganic ions or salts are also known [2-4, 6, 8,9]. The copolymers consist of an unsaturated carboxylic acid monomer and one or more alkyl acrylate esters wherein the alkyl groups contain 10 to 30 carbon atoms and, optionally, a crosslinking monomer which is a polyfunctional vinylidene monomer containing at least two polymerizable CH2 =C< groupings, the unsaturated bonds of the polymerizable groupings being non-conjugated with respect to each other[25-27]. A crosslinked carboxyl-containing polymers which are water swellable in the form of their salts and are prepared by the polymerization of a monomeric mixture of maleic anhydride, indene, and a crosslinking monomer containing a plurality of CH2 =C<