Sulfonated polyisobutylene telechelic ionomers. XIII. Viscosity behavior in nonpolar solvents and nonpolar–polar solvent mixtures

The effect of molecular variables upon the dilute solution viscosity of sulfonated polyisobutylene telechelic ionomers has been studied in both nonpolar solvents and nonpolar–polar solvent mixtures. In nonpolar solvents, association of the terminal salt groups results in an increase in viscosity and gelation at very low concentrations. The concentration at which gelation occurs was found to be dependent upon molecular variables such as architecture, molecular weight, neutralizing cation, extent of neutralization, and the type of solvent. Addition of a small amount of a more polar cosolvent tends to break up ionic associations between polymer chains and thus reduces viscosity. Finally, such solutions with a small amount of polar cosolvent may display dramatic increases in viscosity with increasing temperature due to a dynamic equilibrium between the ionic groups on the polymer chain, the nonpolar solvent, and the polar cosolvent. The results of this work suggest that these ionomers may potentially be useful as viscosity modifiers or “thermal thickeners” in some applications.