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Anionic Polymerization of an Amphiphilic Copolymer for Preparation of Block Copolymer Micelles Stabilized by π-π Stacking Interactions
Published on: October 10, 2016
Poly(ethylene oxide)-poly(propylene oxide)-poly(ethylene oxide)-g-poly(vinylpyrrolidone): association behavior in
1School of Material Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, NTU-SME, N4.1-B2-03, Nanyang Drive, Singapore 639798.
Abstract:
In this work, we aimed to study the association and interaction behavior of poly(ethylene oxide)-b-poly(propylene oxide)-b-poly(ethylene oxide) block copolymers grafted with poly(vinylpyrrolidone). Critical micellization concentrations were determined using fluorescent probes (pyrene) and critical micellization temperatures characterizing temperature-dependent transitions from monomers to multimolecular micelles were measured. The thermal responsiveness of the copolymer is not affected by the grafting. The hydrodynamic radius of the graft copolymer micelles is found to be greater than that of the original copolymer micelles. The graft copolymer is found to form anisotropic aggregates. The structure of the graft copolymer micelles is less disrupted by the anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate, compared to the ungraft copolymer.
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