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Updated: Jun 25, 2026

Self-assembling Morphologies Obtained from Helical Polycarbodiimide Copolymers and Their Triazole Derivatives
Published on: February 7, 2017
Self-Assembly and pH-Responsiveness of ABC Miktoarm Star Terpolymers
K Van Butsele1, C A Fustin, J F Gohy
1Center for Education and Research on Macromolecules, UniVersité de Liège, B6 Sart-Tilman,B-4000 Liege, Belgium.
Abstract:
This work deals with the self-assembly in water of ABC miktoarm star terpolymers consisting of hydrophobic poly(-caprolactone), hydrophilic poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO), and pH-sensitive poly(2-vinylpyridine) (P2VP). A variety of experimental techniques were used, including dynamic light scattering, transmission electron microscopy, and zeta potential. Special attention was paid to the pH dependency of the supramolecular self-assemblies. A key observation is the capability of the miktoarm terpolymers to form micelles stable over the whole range of pH, although a transition was observed from neutral to highly positively charged nanoobjects upon decreasing pH.
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