ABSTRACT
Polymerisable surfactants are surfactants carrying a polymerisable group, so that, in the polymerisation process, they are able to behave like monomers. Such molecules are often named ‘surfmers’. These surfmers are normally incorporated in the polymer particles produced in an emulsion polymerisation, and they cannot be desorbed like normal surfactants, which produces some benefits. The chapter describes the chemistry of hemiesters and hemiamides derived from the reaction of fatty alcohols and amines with maleic anhydride. The derivatives that can be so prepared are able to participate in copolymerisation reactions as surfmers, i.e. a combination of monomers and surface-active agents. The chapter deals with non-ionic surfmers produced upon functionalisation (killing) of oxirane block copolymers prepared by anionic living ringopening polymerisation. Such techniques allow good control of the structure of the surfactants and the length of both the hydrophilic and hydrophobic sequences.
