The synthesis and adsorption–dispersion properties of PPEGMA–PVPA copolymers in cement paste

Abstract

This study reports the synthesis of a novel superplasticizer, poly(poly(ethylene glycol)methacrylate)–poly(vinylphosphonic acid) (PPEGMA–PVPA), containing phosphate moieties via solution radical polymerization. By adjusting the feed ratios of monomers, PPEGMA–PVPA copolymers with different phosphate group densities were obtained, and their chemical structure was characterized via FT-IR, ¹H NMR spectroscopy and ICP-OES. The results demonstrated that about 70% of the VPA monomer was polymerized. The thermostability of PPEGMA–PVPA was also determined through DSC and TGA. The adsorption–dispersion performance onto cement pastes was investigated using mini-slump test, TOC and zeta potential analysis. It was demonstrated that the adsorption capacity of PPEGMA–PVPA onto cement paste was about 1.4 times stronger than that of the reference polycarboxylate superplasticizer and exhibited excellent adsorption–dispersion performance.