Rheology and phase behavior of poly(n-butyl acrylate)-block-poly(acrylic acid) in aqueous solution

The surface activity and the rheological properties of aqueous solutions of the amphiphilic block copolymer poly(n-butyl acrylate)-block-poly(acrylic acid) (PnBA-b-PAA) were studied as a function of the degree of neutralization, alpha, of the poly(acrylic acid) block. Although the block copolymer sp...

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Publié dans:Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids. - 1985. - 22(2006), 10 vom: 09. Mai, Seite 4766-76
Auteur principal: Eghbali, Elham (Auteur)
Autres auteurs: Colombani, Olivier, Drechsler, Markus, Müller, Axel H E, Hoffmann, Heinz
Format: Article
Langue:English
Publié: 2006
Accès à la collection:Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids
Sujets:Journal Article
Description
Résumé:The surface activity and the rheological properties of aqueous solutions of the amphiphilic block copolymer poly(n-butyl acrylate)-block-poly(acrylic acid) (PnBA-b-PAA) were studied as a function of the degree of neutralization, alpha, of the poly(acrylic acid) block. Although the block copolymer spontaneously forms spherical micelles having a stretched PAA corona and a collapsed PnBA core in water for alpha > 0.1, the solutions do not exhibit any surface activity at this degree of neutralization. Cryo-TEM micrographs show that the radii of the hydrophobic core of the largest micelles are as long as the length of the hydrophobic chain. The micelles, however, have a broad size distribution, and on average, as shown by SANS, the micelles are only about half as long. At concentrations as low as 1 wt %, the solutions exhibit highly viscoelastic behavior and have a yield stress value depending on alpha. The globular micelles are highly ordered in the bulk phase, and the viscoelastic properties are a result of the dense packing of the micelles. The addition of salt or cationic surfactants dramatically decreases the viscosity of the solution. The observed properties seem to be due to electrostatic interactions between the PAA chains of the micelles
Description:Date Completed 03.08.2007
Date Revised 02.05.2006
published: Print
Citation Status PubMed-not-MEDLINE
ISSN:1520-5827