Patent ID: 7053146

Claim:
A method for controlling the threshold temperature and the extent of the thermoassociative effect in a media, said method comprising adding to the media I) at least one water-soluble or water-swellable copolymer obtained by free-radical copolymerization of A) 50 to 99.5 weight percent acryloyldimethyltaurine or acryldimethyltaurate and mixtures thereof, based on the copolymer wherein the acryldimethyltaurine or acryloyldimethyltaurate is more than 80 percent neutialized, F) one or more, macromonomer having a number-average molecular weight of greater than or equal to 200 g/mol, and at least one structural element selected from the group consisting of B) one or more elementally unsaturated, noncationic, comonomer containing at least one oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur or phosphorus atom and possessing a molecular weight of less than 500 g/mol, C) one or more olefinically unsaturated, cationic, comonomer containing at least one oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur or phosphorus atom and possessing a molecular weight of less than 500 g/mol. D) one or more at least monofunctional, silicon-containing component capable of free-radical polymerization, and E) one or more at least monofunctional, fluorine-containing components capable of free-radical polymerization, wherein the copolymerization takes place in the presence or the absence of at least one polymeric additive having number-average molecular weights of from 200 g/mol to 10 9 g/mol, and wherein at least one structural element selected from component B) to F) possesses heat-sensitive properties; II) at least ore synergistic additive selected from the group consisting of an anionic surfactant, cationic surfactant, nonionic surfactant, betaine surfactant and mixtures thereof, and III) from 0.1 to 25 percent by weight of a salt.