Abstract
In this study, seven thermoresponsive methacrylate terpolymers with the same molar mass (MM) and composition but various architectures were successfully synthesized using group transfer polymerization (GTP). These terpolymers were based on tri(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate (TEGMA, A unit), n-butyl methacrylate (BuMA, B unit), and 2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate (DMAEMA, C unit). Along with the more common ABC, ACB, BAC, and statistical architectures, three diblock terpolymers were also synthesized and investigated for the first time, namely (AB)C, A(BC), and B(AC); where the units in the brackets are randomly copolymerized. Two BC diblock copolymers were also synthesized for comparison. Their hydrodynamic diameters and their effective pKas were determined by dynamic light scattering (DLS) and hydrogen ion titrations, respectively. The self-assembly behavior of the copolymers was also visualized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Both dilute and concentrated aqueous copolymer solutions were extensively studied by visual tests and their cloud points (CP) and gel points were determined. It is proven that the aqueous solution properties of the copolymers, with specific interest in their thermoresponsive properties, are influenced by the architecture, with the ABC and A(BC) ones to show clear sol-gel transition.
Highlights
Thermoresponsive polymers are “smart” polymers which are able to respond to temperature [1,2,3].The response of the polymers is indicated by a change of their properties
Thermoresponsive polymers with the appropriate structural parameters, and under the appropriate environmental conditions form 3-D networks of physically-interconnected micelles; these 3-D networks are known as thermoresponsive gels [5]
((AB)C, A(BC), and and and one one statistical copolymer were synthesized in order to investigate the effect of architecture on the statistical copolymer were synthesized in order to investigate the effect of architecture on the thermoresponsive behavior
Summary
Thermoresponsive polymers are “smart” polymers which are able to respond to temperature [1,2,3].The response of the polymers is indicated by a change of their properties. Thermoresponsive polymers are “smart” polymers which are able to respond to temperature [1,2,3]. A special class of thermoresponsive polymers which has become very popular covers polymers that exhibit a Lower. These polymers become insoluble in aqueous media when increasing the temperature. This behavior is explained by the “hydrophobic effect”, i.e., the entropy of water becomes the most dominant factor and forces the polymer to precipitate out of solution [2,4]. It is the same phenomenon that in lower temperatures and concentrations forces the polymers to form micelles [2,4]. As has been well-demonstrated, the architecture, the molar mass (MM), the composition, and the molar
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