Thermoresponsive complex amphiphilic block copolymer micelles investigated by laser light scattering.
Poly(isoprene)-block-poly(ethylene oxide) (PI-b-PEO) diblock copolymers form micelles in water. The introduction of poly(ethylene oxide)-block-poly(propylene oxide)-block-poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO-b-PPO-b-PEO) triblock copolymer leads to the formation of mixed micelles through hydrophobic interaction. The dimension of the mixed micelles varies with the weight ratio (r) of PEO-b-PPO-b-PEO to PI-b-PEO. By use of laser light scattering, we have investigated the temperature dependence of the structural evolution of the micelles at different r. At r<10, the size of the mixed micelles decreases with temperature. At r>10, due to the excessive PEO-b-PPO-b-PEO chains in solution, as temperature increases, the mixed micelles aggregate into larger micelle clusters.
Zhao
Fang
F
Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, Department of Chemical Physics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China.
Xie
Dinghai
D
Zhang
Guangzhao
G
Pispas
Stergios
S
D045782:Hemiterpenes / Q000737:chemistry*; D007840:Latex / Q000737:chemistry*; D008027:Light; D008823:Micelles; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols / Q000737:chemistry*; D012542:Scattering, Radiation; D013696:Temperature
D045782:Hemiterpenes; D007840:Latex; D008823:Micelles; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols; C455100:1,4-polyisoprene