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Updated: Feb 14, 2026

Controlling the Size, Shape and Stability of Supramolecular Polymers in Water
Published on: August 2, 2012
From supramolecular to conventional polymers: polyethylene glycol
Jolanta Swiergiel1, Jan Jadżyn
1Institute of Molecular Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, M. Smoluchowskiego 17, Poznań PL-60-179, Poland. swiergiel@ifmpan.poznan.pl.
Abstract:
Increasing the polymerization degree of polyethylene glycol (PEG), HO-(CH2CH2O-)nH, entails lowering the number of hydroxyl groups per unit volume; therefore, supramolecular polymers are gradually replaced by longer and longer conventional polymers. This paper concerns an estimation of the polymerization degree (n) where PEG changes its nature from a supramolecular polymer to a conventional polymer. It was found that that virtual transformation takes place when n reaches the value of about 9. The conclusion follows from the different thermal behaviors of the dipolar orientational effects in liquid PEG detected for n below and above 9. The result reflects a diametrically different impact of the temperature on the linkages between the monomers in supramolecular and conventional polymers.
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