A novel approach to methoxy polyethylene glycol-grafted sulfonated poly(maleic anhydride-alt-styrene) as superplasticizers in cement pastes

In this research, a novel method was developed to synthesize methoxy polyethylene glycol-grafted sulfonated poly(maleic anhydride- alt -styrene) (SPMS-g-mPEG) as cement superplasticizers. The method includes three main steps: 1) self-stabilized precipitation polymerization (2SP) of styrene and maleic anhydride for PMS microspheres; 2) gas-solid heterogeneous sulfonation reaction (GSR) of gaseous SO 3 with PMS microspheres; 3) intramolecular sulfonic acid-catalyzed esterification reaction of mPEG with sulfonated PMS (SPMS). GSR can achieve uniform sulfonation of PMS microspheres, while overcoming the inherent drawbacks of the traditional homogeneous solution sulfonation process. SPMS and SPMS-g-mPEG with different structural parameters and uniform structure were successfully prepared and their effects on the fluidity and fluidity retention of cement pastes were systematically compared. For the samples demonstrating the best dispersing ability, the hydration heat and setting time of cement pastes, adsorption kinetics and compressive strength of mortar samples were determined further. Our work provides an innovative and effective approach to superplasticizers with outstanding properties and its uniform structure facilitates the investigation on the relationship between structure and properties.