Abstract
Four different copolymers, of acrylamide and acrylic acid, acrylamide and 2‐acrylamido‐2‐methyl propane sulfonic acid, N,N‐dimethylacrylamide and acrylic acid, and N,N‐dimethylacrylamide and 2‐acrylamido‐2‐methyl propane sulfonic acid (sodium salts), were prepared. The copolymers were characterized by their intrinsic viscosities and monomer ratios and with IR, ^1^H‐NMR, and X‐ray diffraction (XRD) spectroscopy. No crystallinity was observed by differential thermal analysis, and this was well supported by XRD. All the polymers showed low decomposition temperatures. A number of decomposition temperatures were observed in differential thermogravimetry thermograms because of the elimination of gases such as CO~2~, SO~2~, CO, and NH~3~. The replacement of the acrylate group with a sulfonate group produced polymers that were more compatible with brine, whereas the replacement of acrylamide with a more hydrophobic group such as N,N‐dimethylacrylamide produced a more shear‐resistant polymer. A N,N‐dimethylacrylamide‐co‐sodium‐2‐acrylamido‐2‐methyl propane sulfonate copolymer was better with respect to thermal stability when the polymer solution was aged at 120°C for a period of 1 month. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 87: 1869–1878, 2003