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Liquid-to-Solid Phase Transitions of Imidazolium-Based Zwitterionic Polymers Induced by Hofmeister Anions
Im Kyung Han1, Jihoon Han1, Youn Soo Kim1
1Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), 77 Cheongam-Ro, Nam-Gu, 37673, Pohang, Gyeongbuk, South Korea.
Abstract:
In this study, we compared the responses of two different types of zwitterionic polymers (ZPs), polyvinylimidzole sulfobetaine (poly(SBVI)) and polymethacrylate sulfobetaine (poly(SBMA)) to Hofmeister anions. Although the anions of the two ZPs were the same as the sulfonate anions and only the types of their cations were different from each other, the aggregation behavior of each in the salt aqueous solution was remarkably different. Consequently, poly(SBVI) exhibited both salting-in and salting-out effects depending on the type and concentration of salt, while poly(SBMA) only exhibited the anti-polyelectrolyte effect. The results of this study provide a deeper understanding of the behavior of zwitterionic polymers in salt solutions and will greatly expand their applications.
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