Importance

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Abstract

A polymer composition which is water-absorbent upon curing comprising: (a) a copolymer containing from about 25 to about 75 mole percent recurring units of at least one .alpha.,.beta.-unsaturated monomer bearing at least one pendant unit selected from the group consisting of a carboxylic acid unit, a carboxylic acid salt unit, a carboxylic acid anhydride unit, a carboxylic acid imide unit, a carboxylic acid amide unit and a carboxylic acid ester unit and from about 75 to about 25 mole percent recurring units of a copolymerizable monomer; and, (b) a polyether derived from C.sub.2 to C.sub.10 alkylene oxides, wherein from about 20 to about 65 percent of the total pendant units introduced through the .alpha.,.beta.-unsaturated monomer must either be carboxylic acid units or must be converted to carboxylic acid units and from about 35 to about 80 percent of the pendant units must either be carboxylic acid salt units or must be converted to carboxylic acid salt units and wherein at least a portion of the oxide groups on the polyether are interacted with the carboxyl hydrogen atoms on the pendant carboxylic acid units such that the copolymer and the polyether are associated through hydrogen bonds.

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First Claim