Morphology and Emulsification of Poly(N-2-(methacryloyloxy) ethyl pyrrolidone)-b-poly(benzyl methacrylate) Assemblies...

In this work, a series of amphiphilic diblock copolymers poly(N-2-(methacryloyloxy) ethyl pyrrolidone)-b-poly(benzyl methacrylate) (PNMP -b-PBzMA ) were developed by the dispersion polymerization method in ethanol. The polymerization-induced self-assembly (PISA) behaviors were studied systematically, and a comprehensive structure-property relationship was also established. Two distinct PISA tendencies were observed, which was mainly depended on the polymerization degree m of PNMP segment. When m is small such as 39 and 55, morphological transitions from spherical to vesicle-like assemblies via wormlike ones upon increasing n commonly happen regardless of the solid content. Alternatively, spherical assemblies became the sole morphology for PNMP₆₄-b-PBzMA block copolymers because of the excellent solvophilicity of the PNMP₆₄ segment. Attributing to the amphiphilicity of PNMP -b-PBzMA block copolymers, PNMP -b-PBzMA assemblies by PISA are a type of excellent Pickering emulsifiers. These assemblies prefer to stabilize O/W Pickering emulsions as confirmed by the confocal laser scanning microscopy method, and the effects of polymerization degree of PBzMA segment or morphologies of PNMP -b-PBzMA assemblies are finite.