title: Nonionic cyclodextrin based binary system with upper and lower critical solution temperature transitions via supramolecular inclusion interaction.
abstract: A nonionic binary aqueous interaction system consisting of β-cyclodextrin trimer (β-CD3) and naphthalene-terminated poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG-NP2), which has tunable upper critical solution temperature (UCST) behavior around room temperature and lower critical solution temperature (LCST) behavior at high temperature, was investigated. In the UCST transition, gel-like aggregates form because of supramolecular inclusion complexation between β-CD3 and PEG-NP2. During LCST transition, PEG-NP2 becomes insoluble in water, which results in its precipitation. The effects of concentration, stoichiometry of the two components, and electrolyte on UCST behavior are discussed. This study provides a new nonionic thermoresponsive material.
authors.affiliation: The Key Laboratory of Space Applied Physics and Chemistry, Ministry of Education and Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Science and Technology, School of Science, Northwestern Polytechnical University , Xi'an 710072, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Zhen
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Xiaodong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Tian
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Haitao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Bai