Summary: Water‐soluble poly(2‐acrylamido‐2‐methylpropane‐1‐sulfonic acid‐co‐1‐vinylimidazole) (P(AMPS‐co‐1‐VIm)) and poly(2‐acrylamido‐2‐methylpropane‐1‐sulfonic acid‐co‐2‐(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate (P(AMPS‐co‐DAMA)) are studied as it is known that the copolymer composition is affected by pH of the monomer phase in inverse miniemulsion. The distribution of the basic monomers in the continuous and dispersed phase changes due to their degrees of protonation. The amounts of the monomers in the cyclohexane phase is determined by gas chromatography, the copolymer composition is studied by elemental and thermogravimetric analysis. An insight into the monomer distribution in the polymer is provided by simultaneous potentiometric and conductometric titration of polymer solutions.

The copolymerization behavior of the acidic monomer 2‐acrylamido‐2‐methyl‐1‐propanesulfonic acid (APSA) and 1‐vinylimidazole in inverse miniemulsion was studied under various conditions. Initially, different surfactants and surfactant concentrations were investigated. After determining a suitable composition of the miniemulsion, changes in the reaction behavior under different pH values and monomer feed compositions were studied. The highest polymerization rates could be produced under neutral conditions over all monomer feed ratios. The addition of acid or base to change the pH value of the monomer mixture also has influence on the polymers obtained. The thermal stability, rheological stiffness and intrinsic viscosity increase when Na‐APSA is incorporated.