Abstract
A new water-soluble polyelectrolyte—the copolymer of sodium 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonate and monoethanolamine vinyl ether—has been synthesized by free-radical copolymerization. The concentration behavior of the reduced viscosity of copolymer solutions that is typical for polyelectrolytes has been revealed. The reactivity ratios of the monomers have been measured. These values indicate a lower reactivity of monoethanolamine vinyl ether than that of sodium 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonate. The complexation of this copolymer with poly(acrylic acid) and poly( N , N -dimethyl- N , N -diallylammonium chloride) has been studied. It has been found that the copolymer demonstrates the polyampholytic behavior and is able to form interpolymer complexes both with polycations and polyanions. It has been established that the polycomplex of the copolymer with polyacrylic acid has the unfolded structure due to the presence of sulfonate groups uninvolved in complexation, while the complex of the copolymer with poly( N , N -dimethyl- N , N -diallylammonium chloride) is compact owing to enhancement of hydrophobic interactions, and the sizes of its species are of the order of 80 nm.