Highly efficient cement dispersants

A polymer cementitious composition dispersant for the improvement of the fluidity of said cementitious compositions comprising hydrophilic side chain substituted polyimide or polyamide backbone units, having at least some portion of grafted oligomeric or polymeric hydrophilic side chains linking at least one of amides, esters, and thioesters, and wherein the polymer cementitious composition dispersant is water soluble, said polymer dispersant having the general formula:

• ##STR5## wherein X is at least one of hydrogen, an alkali earth metal ion, an alkaline earth metal ion, ammonium ion, and amine;
• R is at least one of C.sub.1 to C.sub.6 alkyl(ene) ether and mixtures thereof and C.sub.1 to C.sub.6 alkyl(ene) imine and mixtures thereof;
• Q is at least one of oxygen, nitrogen, and sulfur;
• p is a number from 1 to about 300 resulting in at least one of a linear side chain and branched side chain;
• R.sub.1 is at least one of hydrogen, C.sub.1 to C.sub.20 hydrocarbon, and functionalized hydrocarbon containing --OH;
• Y is a hydrophobic hydrocarbon or polyalkylene oxide moiety that functions as a defoamer;
• m, m', m", n, n', and n" are each independently 0 or an integer between 1 and about 20;
• Z is a moiety containing at least one of i) at least one amine and one acid group, ii) two functional groups capable of incorporating into the backbone selected from the group consisting of dianhydrides, dialdehydes, and di-acid-chlorides, and iii) a succinimide residue;
• and
• wherein a, b, c, and d reflect the mole fraction of each unit wherein the sum of a, b, c, and d equal one, wherein a, b, c, and d are each a decimal of value greater than or equal to zero and less than one, and at least two of a, b, c, and d are greater than zero.