Thickened amphoteric surfactant solutions

Claim 2

A thickened, amphoteric surfactant composition comprising an aqueous solution of a water-soluble amphoteric surfactant thickened with a pH responsive, synthetic addition copolymer which is insoluble in an aqueous liquid at a pH of less than about 2, said composition being at a pH and containing an amount of the pH responsive copolymer sufficient to increase the viscosity of the amphoteric surfactant composition without substantially reducing the clarity thereof.

Claim 3

The thickened composition of claim 1 wherein the thickened composition exhibits a light transmittance of at least about 50 percent and a viscosity which is at least about 500 percent higher than the viscosity of an identical amphoteric surfactant solution containing no thickener therein.

Claim 4

The thickened composition of claim 2 wherein the thickened composition transmits at least 80 percent of the light transmitted by the unthickened, amphoteric surfactant solution and exhibits a viscosity of at least 1000 percent higher than the viscosity of an identical amphoteric surfactant composition containing no thickener therein.

Claim 5

The thickened composition of claim 1 wherein the amphoteric surfactant is an alkyl-substituted imidazoline; an alkyl aminobetaine; a N-alkyl β-aminopropionic acid, an alkyl-3-aminopropionic acid or a salt thereof and fatty acid amide sulfonate.

Claim 6

The thickened composition of claim 4 wherein the amphoteric surfactant is an alkyl-substituted imidazoline or an alkyl aminobetaine and the thickened composition consists of from about 1 to about 35 weight percent of amphoteric surfactant.

Claim 7

The thickened composition of claim 1 wherein the copolymeric thickener is a copolymer of (a) an α,β-ethylenically unsaturated carboxylic acid and (b) an alkyl ester of an α,β-ethylenically unsaturated carboxylic acid.

Claim 8

The thickened composition of claim 6 wherein the copolymeric thickener is a copolymer of from about 8 to about 70 weight percent methacrylic acid and from about 92 to about 30 weight percent of ethylacrylate or methyl methacrylate, said weight percents being based on the total weight of methacrylic acid, ethylacrylate or methyl methacrylate.

Claim 9

The thickened composition of claim 7 wherein the copolymeric thickener is a copolymer of (a) a vinyl ester of a nonpolymerizable carboxylic acid, (b) a nitrile, a hydroxyalkyl ester or an alkyl ester of an α,β-ethylenically unsaturated carboxylic acid and (c) an α,β-ethylenically unsaturated carboxylic acid.

Claim 10

The thickened composition of claim 8 wherein the vinyl ester is vinyl acetate, vinyl propionate or vinyl benzoate; the nitrile is acrylonitrile, the hydroxyalkyl ester is 2-hydroxyethyl acrylate and the alkyl ester is ethylacrylate; and the unsaturated carboxylic acid is methacrylic acid.

Claim 11

The thickened composition of claim 1 wherein the copolymeric thickener is a surfactant ester copolymer of (a) an α,β-ethylenically unsaturated carboxylic acid; (b) a nonionic surfactant ester of an α,β-ethylenically unsaturated carboxylic acid and (c) a polymeric chain extender of an α,β-ethylenically unsaturated monomer copolymerizable with the unsaturated carboxylic acid and unsaturated surfactant ester.

Claim 12

The thickened composition of claim 10 wherein the α,β-ethylenically unsaturated carboxylic acid is of the formula: ##STR10## wherein R is --H, --COOX or --CH 3 ; R' is --H, an alkyl group or --CH 2 COOX and X is --H or an alkyl group; the unsaturated surfactant ester is represented by the formula: ##STR11## wherein R is H or CH 3 ; R" is an alkyl group or an alkylphenyl group; each R' is individually --H, --CH 3 or --C 2 H 5 ; n is an integer from about 0 to 100 and m is an integer from about 0 to 100 and the sum of m+n is at least 1; and the polymeric chain extender monomer is represented by the formula: CH.sub.2 ═CYZ wherein Y is --H or --CH 3 or a halogen and Z is --COOR where R is an alkyl group or hydroxyalkyl group, --C 6 H 4 R' where R' is --H, an alkyl group or a halogen; --Cl; --Br; --CN; ##STR12## where R" is an alkyl group; or --CH═CH 2 .

Claim 13

The thickened composition of claim 11 wherein the surfactant ester copolymer comprises (a) from about 15 to about 60 weight percent of the α,β-ethylenically unsaturated carboxylic acid of the formula: ##STR13## wherein R is --H and R' is --H, --CH 2 COOX or an alkyl group having from about 1 to about 4 carbon atoms; R is --COOX and R' is --H or --CH 2 COOX or R is --CH 3 and R' is --H; and X is --H or an alkyl group having from about 1 to about 4 carbon atoms; (b) from about 1 to about 30 weight percent of the unsaturated surfactant ester of the formula: ##STR14## and R is --H or --CH 3 ; R' is --H or an alkyl group of 1 or 2 carbon atoms; R" is an alkyl group of from 1 to about 20 carbon atoms or an alkylphenyl group of from about 8 to about 16 carbon atoms; and n and m are integers from about 0 to 100 with n being 1 or more and greater than m and the sum of n+m is from 1 to about 100; and (c) from about 15 to about 80 weight percent of the polymeric chain extender monomer of the formula: CH.sub.2 ═CYZ and Y is --H, Z is --COOX', --C 6 H 4 Y', --CN, --Cl, ##STR15## --CH═CH 2 ; Y is --CH 3 and Z is --COOX; --C 6 H 4 Y', --CN, or --CH═CH 2 ; or Y and Z are --Cl; where X' is an alkyl group of having from about 1 to about 8 carbon atoms or a hydroxyalkyl group having from about 2 to about 8 carbon atoms; Y' is --H, --Cl, --Br or an alkyl group of about 1 to about 4 carbon atoms; and Z' is an alkyl group of from about 1 to about 8 carbon atoms.

Claim 14

The thickened composition of claim 12 wherein the α,β-ethylenically unsaturated carboxylic acid is methacrylic acid, acrylic acid or a mixture of acrylic or methacrylic acid with itaconic or fumaric acid and the polymeric chain extender monomer is a monovinyl ester or mixture thereof with styrene, hydroxyethyl acrylate, acrylonitrile, vinyl chloride or vinyl acetate.

Claim 15

The thickened composition of claim 13 wherein the unsaturated carboxylic acid is methacrylic acid or a mixture thereof with itaconic acid which, in polymerized form, constitutes from about 35 to about 55 weight percent of the surfactant ester copolymer; and the polymeric chain extender monomer is ethylacrylate which, in polymerized form, constitutes from about 20 to about 60 weight percent of the surfactant ester copolymer.

Claim 16

The thickened composition of claim 11 wherein the unsaturated surfactant ester is an alkylphenoxypoly(ethyleneoxy)ethylacrylate of the formula: ##STR16## wherein R is H or CH 3 ; Y is an alkyl group having about 8 to about 16 carbon atoms and n is from about 2 to about 100.

Claim 17

The thickened composition of claim 11 wherein the unsaturated surfactant ester is an alkoxypoly(ethyleneoxy)ethylacrylate of the formula: ##STR17## where R is --H or --CH 3 , R" is an alkyl group having from about 8 to about 20 carbon atoms and n is from about 6 to about 50.

Claim 18

The thickened composition of claim 11 wherein the unsaturated surfactant ester alkoxypoly(alkyleneoxy)ethylacrylate of the formula: ##STR18## wherein R is --H or --CH 3 , R' is --CH 3 or --C 2 H 5 , R" is an alkyl group having from about 1 to about 20 carbon atoms, n is from about 6 to about 50 and m is from about 1 to about 14.