Unimolecular Janus Micelles by Microenvironment-Induced, Internal Complexation
Alexander A Steinschulte1, Bjoern Schulte2, Michael Erberich2
1Institute of Physical Chemistry, RWTH Aachen University, Landoltweg 2, 52056 Aachen, Germany.
Abstract:
A noncentrosymmetric, star-shaped polymeric system is presented, which forms unimolecular micelles upon complexation of poly(propylene oxide) (PPO) with poly(dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate) (PDMAEMA). The influence of macromolecular architecture on the hydrophobicity of PPO and its interaction with PDMAEMA is investigated. Within stars, a complex between PPO and PDMAEMA is formed, lowering the interfacial tension of the hydrophobic domain (PDMAEMA acts as a "microsurfactant" for PPO). This leads to a pronounced drop in aggregation number compared to similar diblock copolymers, as corroborated by a scaling approach.
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