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copolymers, self-association, Carboxymethylcellulose, poly (ethylene oxide / propylene oxide), grafting.
The present work studies the synthesis and characterization of two copolymers with thermoresponsive properties, consisting of amino terminated poly (ethylene oxide / propylene oxide) grafts in a carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) backbone. Grafting occurred from a coupling reaction between the –NH2 group of the Jeffamine® M-1000 and M-2070 (commercial nomenclature of polyetheramines) with the COO- groups from CMC, by using 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide (EDC) and N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS) as coupling agents. The structural characterization of the copolymers and their precursors was done by means of IR and 1H NMR spectroscopy. On the IV spectrum of the copolymers it was possible to observe the effectiveness of the grafting reaction and the determination of the degree of grafting in both copolymers. The behavior in aqueous medium was studied thru of visual tests, rheological analysis and UV-vis spectroscopy, and the thermo-associative properties of the synthesized copolymers was verified in saline medium. The CMC-g-Jeffamine® M-1000 copolymer exhibited high apparent viscosity values even in a hostile medium, with high ionic strenght and high temperature conditions. The CMC-g-Jeffamine® M-2070 copolymer exhibited the thermothickening behavior, however its viscosity values are low when compared to the CMC-g-Jeffamine® M-1000 copolymer.