title: Association properties of diblock copolymer of ethylene oxide and 1,2-butylene oxide: E17B12 in aqueous solution.
abstract: Copolymer E(17)B(12) (E denotes OCH(2)CH(2), B denotes OCH(2)CH(C(2)H(5)), and the subscripts denote number-average chain lengths) was prepared by sequential oxyanionic polymerization and characterized by GPC (for distribution width) and NMR spectroscopy (for absolute composition and chain length). Dynamic and static light scattering and rheometry were used to characterize micelles in dilute solution and demonstrate the formation of compact micelles at low temperatures and of elongated micelles at higher temperatures, the latter being accompanied by turbidity of the solution. Rheological methods applied across a range of concentrations and temperatures served to demonstrate the formation of worm-like micelles. Gels based on entangled worm-like micelles (some of them turbid) and on packed compact micelles were identified and their properties were explored.
authors.affiliation: Polymer Science Program, Faculty of Science, Prince of Songkla University, Had Yai, Songkhla 90112, Thailand. chiraphon.c@psu.ac.yh
authors.forename: Chiraphon
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Chaibundit
authors.forename: Panita
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sumanatrakool
authors.forename: Supaporn
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chinchew
authors.forename: Proespichaya
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kanatharana
authors.forename: Carin E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Tattershall
authors.forename: Colin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Booth
authors.forename: Xue-Feng
authors.initials: XF
authors.lastname: Yuan