Provided is a surfactant composition having the capability of not only imparting excellent polymerization stability, but also imparting excellent mechanical stability to the aqueous resin dispersion to be obtained through emulsion polymerization, even when the amount of the surfactant composition used is small.

The surfactant composition includes a surfactant (A) and an anionic surfactant (B) having no radical polymerizable substituent, where the surfactant (A) is a compound represented by a general formula (I)

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(in which D represents a polymerizable unsaturated group; R.sup.1 represents a group having an aromatic ring; ml is 1 to 2, m2 is 1 to 2, and a sum of numbers m1 and m2 is 2 to 3; A represents an alkylene group or a substituted alkylene group having a carbon number of 2 to 4; n is an average number of moles of alkylene oxide added and is 1 to 1000; and X represents an anionic hydrophilic group) and the surfactant (B) contains a polyoxyalkylene group which has a repeating number of an oxyalkylene unit of 1 to 10.

An object of the present invention is to provide a gel material including a solvophilic polymer having a μm-scale porous structure.

A polymer gel in which solvophilic polymer units are cross-linked with each other, wherein the polymer gel contains a solvent and has a three-dimensional network structure having two regions: a first region in which the polymer units are densely present and a second region in which the polymer units are sparsely present, and a mesh size composed of the first region is from 1 to 500 μm.

Disclosed is a near-infrared absorbing composition, including: a near-infrared absorbing agent; and a solvent, wherein the near-infrared absorbing agent includes at least one of the following Component (A) and Component (B): Component (A): a component composed of a compound having a structure of the following general formula (I) and a metal ion; Component (B): a component composed of a metal complex that is obtainable by a reaction of the compound having the structure of the following general formula (I) and a metal compound.

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A method for producing a multi-arm type polyethylene glycol derivative, which includes carrying out the following in order: Step (A): protecting an even number of hydroxyl groups, while leaving only the hydroxyl group at the 1-position of a polyhydric alcohol having an odd number of hydroxyl groups, other than the hydroxyl group at the 1-position by cyclic benzylidene acetalization, Step (B): linking two molecules of the compound obtained in step (A) to a compound for introducing a specific linker by etherification reaction, Step (C): deprotecting the cyclic benzylidene acetal structure at the terminal of the compound obtained in step (B), Step (D): polymerizing 3 to 600 mol of ethylene oxide to each hydroxyl group of the compound obtained in step (C) to obtain a multi-arm type polyethylene glycol derivative, and Step (E): functionalizing the hydroxyl group at the terminal of the multi-arm type polyethylene glycol derivative obtained in step (D).

A method for producing a multi-arm type polyethylene glycol derivative, which includes carrying out the following in order: Step (A): protecting an even number of hydroxyl groups, while leaving only the hydroxyl group at the 1-position of a polyhydric alcohol having an odd number of hydroxyl groups, other than the hydroxyl group at the 1-position by cyclic benzylidene acetalization, Step (B): linking two molecules of the compound obtained in step (A) to a compound for introducing a specific linker by etherification reaction, Step (C): deprotecting the cyclic benzylidene acetal structure at the terminal of the compound obtained in step (B), Step (D): polymerizing 3 to 600 mol of ethylene oxide to each hydroxyl group of the compound obtained in step (C) to obtain a multi-arm type polyethylene glycol derivative, and Step (E): functionalizing the hydroxyl group at the terminal of the multi-arm type polyethylene glycol derivative obtained in step (D).

The present invention provides rubber compositions with good silica dispersion and fuel economy, and pneumatic tires including the rubber compositions. The present invention relates to a rubber composition for tires, containing: a rubber component including 30% by mass or more of a styrene-butadiene rubber having a SiOR group wherein R represents a hydrogen atom or a hydrocarbon group; a silica having a nitrogen adsorption specific surface area of 210 m.sup.2/g or more in an amount of 50 parts by mass or more per 100 parts by mass of the rubber component; and at least one surfactant selected from the group consisting of polyoxyalkylene alkenyl ether sulfate salts and polyoxyalkylene alkyl ether sulfate salts.

Provided herein are polymers obtainable by a process including the steps a) and b) described below. In Step a) at least one component a1) is condensed to obtain a polyether having remaining hydroxyl groups. Component a1) is at least one component selected from N-(hydroxyalkyl) amins according to formula (Ia) and/or (Ib) as defined below. Besides component a1), further components can be present in the condensation step a). In step b) a part of the remaining hydroxyl groups are reacted with at least one alkylene oxide. The alkoxylation according to step b) is carried out in a substoichiometric way. The ratio of i) the alkylene oxide versus ii) the sum of the amount of the remaining hydroxyl groups is >0:1 to <1:1 [mol/mol]. Further provided herein is a process for preparing such polymers and derivatives of the polymers by quaternization, protonation, sulphation and/or phosphation.

Provided herein are polymers obtainable by a process including the steps a) and b) described below. In Step a) at least one component a1) is condensed to obtain a polyether having remaining hydroxyl groups. Component a1) is at least one component selected from N-(hydroxyalkyl) amins according to formula (Ia) and/or (Ib) as defined below. Besides component a1), further components can be present in the condensation step a). In step b) a part of the remaining hydroxyl groups are reacted with at least one alkylene oxide. The alkoxylation according to step b) is carried out in a substoichiometric way. The ratio of i) the alkylene oxide versus ii) the sum of the amount of the remaining hydroxyl groups is >0:1 to <1:1 [mol/mol]. Further provided herein is a process for preparing such polymers and derivatives of the polymers by quaternization, protonation, sulphation and/or phosphation.

An aqueous alkyd resin coating composition, comprising (a) at least one alkyd resin as a dispersed phase; (b) an emulsifier based on styrenated phenols that have been converted into reactive surfactants by first reaction with one or more equivalents of an allyl glycidyl ether to provide pendant allyl groups and then oxyalkylated and (c) water. The invention also provides a method for preparing these aqueous alkyd resin coating compositions from solvent borne alkyd compositions.

An aqueous alkyd resin coating composition, comprising (a) at least one alkyd resin as a dispersed phase; (b) an emulsifier based on styrenated phenols that have been converted into reactive surfactants by first reaction with one or more equivalents of an allyl glycidyl ether to provide pendant allyl groups and then oxyalkylated and (c) water. The invention also provides a method for preparing these aqueous alkyd resin coating compositions from solvent borne alkyd compositions.