Aqueous emulsions containing hydrophilic silicone-organic copolymers

Claim 1

An aqueous emulsion containing a hydrophilic, water-absorbing, silicone-organic copolymer elastomer consisting essentially of the product obtained upon reacting (A) from 50 to 95 parts by weight of at least one block copolymer of the formula ##STR7## wherein a is an integer of from 4 to 49, inclusive, b is an integer of from 0 to 15, inclusive, c is an integer having a value of from 2 to 4, inclusive, d is an integer of from 0 to 25, inclusive, e is an integer of from 5 to 50 inclusive d+e is no greater than 50 and e is greater than or equal to d, f is 0 or 1, f' is 0 or 1, f+f'+b is at least 2, R is a monovalent hydrocarbon or halohydrocarbon radical of from 1 to 6 inclusive carbon atoms which is free of aliphatic unsaturation, R' is a methyl or a phenyl radical, Z is a monovalent radical selected from the group consisting of CH 2 ═CR"COOR"'NHCOO--, CH 2 ═CHCH 2 NHCOO-- and CH 2 ═CR"COO--, R" is an alkyl radical of from 1 to 4 inclusive carbon atoms or hydrogen, and R"' is a divalent hydrocarbon radical of from 1 to 6 inclusive carbon atoms with (B) from 5 to 50 parts by weight of at least one substantially water insoluble aliphatically unsaturated organic monomer which is compatible with said (A), said reaction being conducted under free radical polymerization conditions in the presence of water and an effective amount of a surfactant and wherein the dry elastomer obtained upon removal of the water is hydrophilic and capable of absorbing at least 3% by weight of water based upon the total weight of said elastomer.