Water-soluble or water-swellable, associatively thickening copolymers containing sulfo groups, method for producing the same and use thereof

A water-soluble or water-swellable copolymer containing sulfo groups and composed of

• a) from 3 to 96 mol % of units of the formula I
• 10
• where
• R1=hydrogen or methyl
• R2, R3, R4=hydrogen, an aliphatic hydrocarbon radical having from 1 to 6 carbon atoms, a phenyl radical, or a phenyl radical substituted with methyl groups
• M=hydrogen, a mono- or divalent metal cation, ammonium, or an organic amine radical
• a=½ or 1,
• b) from 3 to 96 mol % of units of the structural formula IIa and/or IIb
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• where
• W=—CO—, —CO—O—(CH2) —, —CO—NR2—(CH2)x—
• x=from 1 to 6
• R5 and R6=hydrogen, a substituted or unsubstituted aliphatic hydrocarbon radical having from 1 to 20 carbon atoms, a cycloaliphatic hydrocarbon radical having from 5 to 8 carbon atoms, an aryl radical having from 6 to 14 carbon atoms, and Q=hydrogen or else —CHR5R7, and if Q ≠H, R5 and R6 in IIb can together form a —CH2—(CH2)y-methylene group where y=from 1 to 4,
• R7=hydrogen, an aliphatic hydrocarbon radical having from 1 to 4 carbon atoms, —COOH or —COO-Ma, and R1, R2, M and a are as defined above,
• c) from 0.05 to 75 mol % of units of the formula IIIa and/or IIIb
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• where
• Y=O, NH or NR5
• V=—(CH2)x—,
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• R8=R5 or R6, —(CH2)x—SO3−(M),
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• X=halogen, C1-C4-alkyl sulfate or C1-C4alkylsulfonate
• and R1, R2, R3, R5, R6, and x are as defined above, and
• d) from 0.01 to 30 mol % of units of the formula IV
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• where
• Z=—COO(CmH2mO)n—R9, —(CH2)p—O(CmH2mO)n—R9
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• or else a saturated or unsaturated, linear or branched, aliphatic hydrocarbon radical having from 22 to 40 carbon atoms
• R11=H, C1-C4-alkyl-, phenyl-, benzyl-, Cl-C4alkoxy, halogen, cyano, —COOH, —COOR5, —CO—NH2, —OCOR5
• R11=arylalkyl group having a C1-C12-alkyl radical and C6-Cl4-aryl radical
• m=from 2 to 4
• n=from 0 to 200
• p=from 0 to 20
• and R1 and R5 are as defined above.