Fluorocarbon associative polymers

Fluorocarbon associative polymers modified along the backbone or at the extremities by hydrophobic groups are reviewed with respect to their association and rheological properties in aqueous solutions. Above a threshold concentration corresponding to the formation of a reversible network structure, the solutions behave as physical gels. In this review, it is shown that the viscoelasticity of fluorocarbon associative polymer gels is enhanced with respect to that of hydrocarbon analogues. For polymers substituted at the extremities (telechelics), significant progresses have been made in recent years concerning the microstructure, the phase behavior and the rheology of the gel state. Telechelics in solutions are forming multiconnected structures, which dynamical features are in good agreement with those of transient network models. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.