Microwave-Assisted Synthesis of Associative Hydrogels

In the present paper, the microwave (MW)‐assisted synthesis of hydrogel forming polymers based on poly(acrylic acid) (1) is described. The polymer analogous condensation reaction between adamantyl moieties bearing free amino groups and poly(acrylic acid) (1) was carried out simply by mixing both components and subsequent use of MW protocol. The mixture was irradiated for 20 min without the addition of solvents or coupling agents. Aqueous solutions of the sodium salts of the obtained hydrophobically modified poly(acrylic acid)s showed a very high viscosity due to the intermolecular association of the hydrophobic side chains and the resulting formation of physical networks. By the addition of randomly methylated β‐cyclodextrin (RAMEB), the rheology of these systems could be influenced significantly.