FLUOROCARBON POLYMERIZABLE SURFACTANTS - VISCOMETRIC BEHAVIOR, MICELLAR POLYMERIZATION AND INTERACTIONS WITH ASSOCIATING POLYMERS

The micellar aggregation of two fluorocarbon surfactants bearing a pol ymerizable acrylamido group and differing only in the degree of amido substitution (CONH or CONC2H5) has been investigated by viscometry. Th e two surfactants exhibit distinct solution properties with a micellar growth occurring at a much lower concentration for the N-monosubstitu ted sample which shows in addition a shear thickening and rheopectic b ehavior. The ability of the latter surfactant to form hydrogen bonding is responsible for this difference in behavior. Micellar copolymeriza tion of acrylamide with these surfactants or with a hydrocarbon analog ue gives copolymers with a polysoap-like behavior. The copolymers in a queous solution show a pronounced intramolecular hydrophobic aggregati on expressed by relatively low-viscosity values when compared with tho se of other hydrophobically modified water-soluble polymers reported i n the literature. Surfactant-polymer mixed systems do not show a stron g incompatibility between fluorocarbon and hydrocarbon moieties.