Patent ID: 7592391

Claim:
A method of preparing an aqueous dispersion of an ion-triggerable cationic polymer comprising the steps of: A. preparing a mixed solvent solution of water and acetone; B. heating the solvent solution; C. mixing with said solvent solution 1) one or more vinyl-functional cationic monomers, 2) one or more hydrophobic vinyl monomers having alkyl side chains of 1 to 4 carbon atoms, 3) optionally about 0% to 30 mole % of one or more other vinyl monomers with linear or branched alkyl groups longer than 4 carbons, alkyl hydroxy, polyoxyalkylene, or other functional group, and 4) a free radical initiator, to form a reaction mixture; D. heating the reaction mixture for a sufficient amount of time to polymerize the monomers and provide the ion-triggerable cationic polymer; E. after polymerization, adding water to said reaction mixture to provide an aqueous dispersion of said ion-triggerable cationic polymer; F. after adding water, removing substantially all of the acetone from said reaction mixture, and G. preparing the mixed solvent solution of step A using the acetone removed after polymerization from step F, and thereafter repeating steps B through G.