Propylene Oxide Methacrylate Research Articles

A small-angle neutron scattering study of sodium dodecyl sulfate-poly(propylene oxide) methacrylate mixed micelles

Mixed micelle of protonated or deuterated sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS and SDSd25, respectively) and poly(propylene oxide) methacrylate (PPOMA) are studied by small-angle neutron scattering (SANS). In all the cases the scattering curves exhibit a peak whose position changes with the composition of the system. The main parameters which characterize mixed micelles, i.e., aggregation numbers of SDS and PPOMA, geometrical dimensions of the micelles and degree of ionisation are evaluated from the analysis of the SANS curves. The position q max of the correlation peak can be related to the average aggregation numbers of SDS–PPOMA and SDSd25–PPOMA mixed micelles. It is found that the aggregation number of SDS decreases upon increasing the weight ratio PPOMA/SDS (or SDSd25). The isotopic combination, which uses the “contrast effect” between the two micellar systems, has allowed us to determine the mixed micelle composition. Finally, the SANS curves were adjusted using the RMSA for the structure factor S ( q ) of charged spherical particles and the form factor P ( q ) of spherical core–shell particle. This analysis confirms the particular core–shell structure of the SDS–PPOMA mixed micelle, i.e., a SDS “core” micelle surrounded by the shell formed by PPOMA macromonomers. The structural parameters of mixed micelles obtained from the analysis of the SANS data are in good agreement with those determined previously by conductimetry and fluorescence studies.

Micellar copolymerization of associative polymers: Study of the effect of acrylamide on sodium dodecyl sulfate–poly(propylene oxide) methacrylate mixed micelles

Mixed micelles of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and poly(propylene oxide) methacrylate (PPOMA) have been studied in the presence of acrylamide using conductimetry, fluorescence spectroscopy, and small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) under the following conditions: (i) the SDS–acrylamide binary system in water; (ii) the SDS–acrylamide–PPOMA ternary system in water. The addition of acrylamide in SDS solutions perturbs the micellization of the surfactant by decreasing the aggregation number of the micelles and increasing their ionization degree. The variations of the various micellar parameters versus the weight ratio R=PPOMA/SDS are different in the presence of acrylamide or in pure water. These differences are much more pronounced for the lower than for the higher PPOMA concentrations. There is competition between acrylamide and PPOMA and at higher PPOMA concentration, acrylamide tends to be released from SDS micelles and is completely replaced by PPOMA.

Study of Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate−Poly(propylene oxide) Methacrylate Mixed Micelles

Sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-poly(propylene oxide) methacrylate (PPOMA) (of molecular weight M(w) = 434 g x mol(-1)) mixtures have been studied using conductimetry, static light scattering, fluorescence spectroscopy, and 1H NMR. It has been shown that SDS and PPOMA form mixed micelles, and SDS and PPOMA aggregation numbers, N(ag SDS) and N(ag PPOMA), have been determined. Total aggregation numbers of the micelles (N(ag SDS) + N(ag PPOMA)) and those of SDS decrease upon increasing the weight ratio R = PPOMA/SDS. Localization of PPOMA inside the mixed micelles is considered (i) using 1H NMR to localize the methacrylate function at the hydrophobic core-water interface and (ii) by studying the SDS-PPO micellar system (whose M(w) = 400 g x mol(-1)). Both methods have indicated that the PPO chain of the macromonomer is localized at the SDS micelle surface. Models based on the theorical prediction of the critical micellar concentration of mixed micelles and structural model of swollen micelles are used to confirm the particular structure proposed for the SDS-PPOMA system, i.e., the micelle hydrophobic core is primarily composed of the C12 chains of the sodium dodecyl sulfate, the hydrophobic core-water interface is made up of the SDS polar heads as well as methacrylate functions of the PPOMA, the PPO chains of the macromonomer are adsorbed preferentially on the surface, i.e., on the polar heads of the SDS.