Abstract: Poly(methyl vinyl ether-co-maleic anhydride)/polyglycerol water-retaining agent was prepared by esterification of poly(methyl vinyl ether-co-maleic anhydride) (simplified expressed as PMVE/MAH) and decaglycerol with solution-grafting method.Structure of the esterified product was characterized by FT-IR and thermo-gravimetric analysis.The effect of esterification rate on performance of the product were examined.In addition,thermal stability,water retention capacity,electrolyte resistance and reuse ability of the product were studied.Results show that the copolymer with the esterification rate of 12.5% displays the strongest water absorption,which achieves 353 g/g at pH=7 with good salt resistance;and the water absorption of the copolymer reaches 719 g/g at pH=8.Under the environment temperature 50 ℃ for 16 h,the water retention rate still achieves 67.2% of the original water retention rate.

Key words: water-retaining agent, poly(methyl vinyl ether-co-maleic anhydride), decaglycerol