The Japanese catalyst company Tsubaki Hengxiong invented the polycarboxylic acid water-reducing agent in the 1980s. Its molecular structure is no longer the same as the linear structure of the previous high-efficiency water-reducing agent. Comb-shaped molecular structure composed of chains and long polyoxyethylene side chains.

Immediately afterwards, an ester-based carboxylate water-reducing agent obtained by copolymerization of alkoxy polyethylene glycol acrylate and methacrylic acid monomer was invented. It has created a new situation in the research and application of polyzhi carboxylic acid water reducer. In 1986, it was the first time to obtain the exclusive use of polycarboxylic acid high-performance water-reducing agent. In 1984, Keichi Ono of Nippon Electric Co., Ltd. synthesized carboxylic acid-based water-reducing agent using carboxylic acid-ethylene polymerization.