Pressure effects revealed by small angle neutron scattering on block copolymer gels.
We study the effects of hydrostatic pressure (P) on aqueous solutions and gels of the block copolymer B(20)E(610) (E, oxyethylene; B, oxybutylene; subscripts, number of repeats), by performing simultaneous small angle neutron scattering/pressure experiments. Micellar cubic gels were studied for 9.5 and 4.5 wt % B(20)E(610) at T = 20-80 and 35-55 degrees C, respectively, while micellar isotropic solutions where studied for 4.5 wt % B(20)E(610) at T > 55 degrees C. We observed that the interplanar distance d 110 (cubic unit cell parameter a = [see text for formula]) decreases while the correlation length of the cubic order (delta) increases, upon increasing P at a fixed T for 9.5 wt % B(20)E(610). The construction of master curves for d(110) and delta corresponding to 9.5 wt % B(20)E(610) proved the correlation between changes in T and P. Neither d(110) and delta nor the cubic-isotropic phase transition temperature was affected by the applied pressure for 4.5 wt % B(20)E(610). The dramatic contrast between the pressure-induced behavior observed for 9.5 and 4.5 wt % B(20)E(610) suggests that pressure induced effects might be more effectively transmitted through samples that present wider domains of cubic structure order (9.5 wt % compared to 4.5 wt % B(20)E(610)).
School of Chemistry, Food Biosciences and Pharmacy, The University of Reading, P.O. Box 226, Whiteknights, Reading, UK. V.Castelletto@reading.ac.uk
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V
Castelletto
G E
GE
Newby
I W
IW
Hamley
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L
Noirez
P
P
Baroni
D005782:Gels / Q000737:chemistry; D009502:Neutrons; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D011312:Pressure; D053838:Scattering, Small Angle; D013696:Temperature
D005782:Gels; D011108:Polymers