The design and properties study of a novel styryl-pyridinium-based water-soluble fluorescent copolymer as tracing agent

A water-soluble fluorescent copolymer poly(acrylamide-acrylic acid-styrene pyridinium) (PAAS) for detecting polymer concentration in real time was synthesized via micellar free-radical polymerization by acrylamide, acrylic acid, and styryl-pyridinium salt derivative (SP- 4 ). The special Donor-π-Acceptor unit and ionic structure of SP- 4 endued the copolymer with excellent fluorescent properties and remarkable water solubility. The fluorescent copolymer was fully characterized by Fourier transform infrared, ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance, thermogravimetry, Ubbelohde viscosity, ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy, and fluorescence measurements. Furthermore, the fluorescence intensity and the concentration of PAAS were verified to have ideal linear relationship with a correlation coefficient up to 0.9993, indicating that the copolymer's concentration can be easily measured by detecting its fluorescence intensity. Most importantly, the introduction of water-soluble fluorescent monomer SP- 4 endowed the PAAS with good fluorescent stability in a wide range of temperature, pH, and brine concentrations. This study demonstrated that the fluorescent copolymer PAAS exhibits great potential application in detecting polymer concentration in various environments. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019 , 136, 47062.