Cellulosic associative thickeners

Cellulosic associative thickeners with well-defined hydrophilic and hydrophobic parts are currently of increased interest because of their extensive applications, biodegradability, lack of toxicity, and abundant raw materials. However, such polymeric thickeners are often difficult to prepare and analyze. In this article, their synthesis routes via lateral-group reactions and graft copolymerization, and the methods for determining the content of bound hydrophobe and the feature of hydrophobic microstructure are reviewed briefly. Besides, the solubility characteristic and the viscosity behavior of cellulosic associative thickener in aqueous solutions as well as other properties such as surface activity, adsorption on a hydrophobic substrate, and hydrogel forming are also presented and discussed.