Aqueous solution properties of ampholytic copolymers prepared in microemulsions

The aqueous solution properties of a series of polyampholytes of sodium 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonate (NaAMPS) and (2-(metacryloyloxy)ethyl)trimethylammonium chloride (MADQUAT) were investigated by turbidimetry and viscometry experiments. The solution behavior in the absence and presence of salt is directly related to the copolymer composition. Neutral copolymers with balanced stoichiometry collapse into globules in pure water and adopt a Gaussian configuration at high sodium chloride contents (>1 M), due to a screening of the attractive interactions