Patent ID: 8034869

Claim:
An aqueous coating composition, comprising: (a) pigment particles; (b) particles of acrylic polymer or styrene-acrylic polymer comprising polymerized units of monomers containing phosphate or phosphonate groups; and (c) an associative thickener polymer having a backbone comprising a polyoxyalkylene, a polysaccharide, or a polyvinyl alcohol, said associative thickener polymer further comprising a plurality of hydrophobic groups attached to or within the backbone wherein one or more of said hydrophobic groups comprises a secondary amine, or a tertiary amine, or a tertiary phosphine, or a combination thereof, and optionally a quaternary amine, with the proviso that less than 80% of the total amine functionality is a quaternary amine; wherein the secondary amine, or the tertiary amine, or the tertiary phosphine, or combination thereof, are substantially unprotonated.