A Perspective on the History of and Current Research in Surfactant-Modified, Water-Soluble Polymers

By J. Edward Glass

In this review of surfactant-modified, water-soluble polymers, a definition of terms and their historical development is given for each associative polymer type. Studies that have contributed to a fundamental understanding of the structural influences of these associative polymers on the solution behavior of such thickeners are re-viewed critically avoiding the sales approach and over exuberance¹ exhibited in so many publications in this area of coatings science.