The hydrophobically associating copolymers,poly(BS/AM/DMDAAC)(PBAD) were synthesized from acrylamide (AM),butyl styrene (BS) and dimethyldiallyammonium chloride (DMDAAC) by the micellar free radical copolymerization technique.The copolymers were characterized with UV and FT-IR.The atomic force microscope(AFM) measurement showed that aggregates had been formed in the aqueous solution of 0.005 g.dl -1 PBAD, and with the increase of PBAD concentration, the number and size of aggregates increased due to the intermolecular hydrophobic association of butylphenyl groups.The optimum flocculant concentration of PBAD was 0.005 g·dl -1 in the aqueous solution of 3% diatomite and the transmittance was 96.5%.The NaCl concentration obviously influenced the bridging and adsorption behavior of the copolymer for celite suspensions, and calcium and aluminium ions strengthened the flocculation effect of the polymer.
