Heat-responsive polymers that do not breakdown in water may lead to new antifouling coatings and enhanced oil recovery

Thanks to the positively and negatively charged units in their monomers, zwitterionic polymers have a high affinity for water—a property known as hydrophilicity. This property helps prevent fouling, namely the build-up of contaminants. Current zwitterionic polymers are not effective in water as they use monomers such as commercially available acrylamide and methacrylates that tend to decompose and lose their electrostatic characteristics when wet.

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