Associative thickeners are standard in the formulation of modern aqueous systems, such as paints and coatings, adhesives, etc. These are either hydrophobic-modified acrylic thickeners, often called HASE, and the NiSAT group of products. The term NiSAT, which is often used for this class of associative thickeners, stands for “Non-Ionic Synthetic Associative Thickeners”.
The HASE product group contains ionic, mainly anionic thickeners, which require proper pH adjustment for activation. This product group utilizes two mechanisms, water thickening and associative.