A water‐soluble acrylate/sulfonate copolymer. I. Its synthesis and dispersing ability on cement

Abstract A new water‐soluble methacrylate/2‐acrylamido‐2‐methylpropane sulfonate copolymer (PMAMP) was synthesized and evaluated as a dispersion agent for cement particles. PMAMP was prepared from methacrylic acid and 2‐acrylamido‐2‐methylpropane sulfonic acid (AMP). The structure of the prepared polymer was verified by its NMR and IR spectra. The dispersing properties of PMAMP were evaluated by a minislump test on cement pastes. The test results indicated that this copolymer could disperse the cement particles and improve the minislump of cement pastes. Compared with a commercial superplasticizer (sulfonated naphthalene formaldehyde condensates), PMAMP performed better in enhancing the fluidity of the cement pastes. The polymer with about 40–50% AMP and a weight‐average molecular weight of about 5 × 10 4 was most effective in dispersing cement particles and promoting the fluidity of cement pastes. Nevertheless, PMAMP with a higher AMP content or a higher molecular weight appeared to cause less slump loss. This was related to the interaction of this admixture with the cement particles and its adsorption behavior onto the cement particles. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 100: 2490–2496, 2006