Imidazole polymers and preparation thereof with radiation and chemical initiator

Claim 1

A process of preparing water-soluble, high molecular weight imidazole polymers which comprises irradiating an aqueous solution comprising from 15% to about 90% by weight of monomer comprising from 5% to 100% by weight of at least one water-soluble imidazole monomer selected from the group consisting of 1-vinylimidazole, acid salt of 1-vinylimidazole, and quaternary salt of 1-vinylimidazole and from 95% to 0% by weight of at least one water-soluble monomer conforming to the formula ##STR7## wherein R is hydrogen, methyl, or ethyl and Y is --NH 2 , --OM, ##STR8## wherein M is a cation, R 1 , R 2 and R 3 are 1 to 4 carbon alkyl groups, and X is an anion, and from about 100 to about 12,000 ppm of a chemical, free-radical initiator for the polymerization of ethylenically unsaturated compounds, said initiator having a dissociation rate constant above about 1 × 10 -4 reciprocal seconds at 100° C., does not substantially catalyze the polymerization of ethylenically unsaturated monomers at temperatures below about 50° C., and does substantially catalyze the polymerization of ethylenically unsaturated monomers at temperatures below about 100° C., with high energy ionizing radiation at an intensity of from about 10,000 rads to about 1,000,000 rads per hour to a dose of from about 5,000 to about 500,000 rads, to form a reaction mass in which from about 30% to about 95% by weight of the monomer initially present in aqueous solution has been converted to water-soluble polymer and in which chemically induced polymerization occurs, terminating the high energy ionizing radiation of the reaction mass before formation of water-insoluble polymer in the reaction mass, and allowing the chemically induced polymerization of the reaction mass to continue.