Morphology of Polystyrene Core-dPoly(ethylene oxide) Shell Arborescent Copolymer Micelles from Small-Angle Neutron Scattering Analysis

Arborescent (dendrigraft) copolymers with a branched polystyrene (PS) core grafted at the chain termini with deuterated poly(ethylene oxide) segments (PS-dPEO) were characterized in benzene and acetone by small-angle neutron scattering measurements using the contrast matching technique. While copoly...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of macromolecular science. Physics 2011-12, Vol.50 (12), p.2318-2333
Main Authors: Yun, Seok Il, Cao, Lan, Kang, Tae-Beom, Huh, Mongyoung, Gauthier, Mario
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Applied sciences
arborescent copolymers
core-shell
Exact sciences and technology
micelle
Organic polymers
Physicochemistry of polymers
Properties and characterization
small-angle neutron scattering (SANS)
Solution and gel properties
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Summary:Arborescent (dendrigraft) copolymers with a branched polystyrene (PS) core grafted at the chain termini with deuterated poly(ethylene oxide) segments (PS-dPEO) were characterized in benzene and acetone by small-angle neutron scattering measurements using the contrast matching technique. While copolymers incorporating a G1 (twice-grafted) PS core aggregated to some extent, the portion of the scattering curve corresponding to non-aggregated copolymer molecules could still be analyzed to determine the shape and segment radial density profile for core and shell. These were derived from the pair distance distribution function P(r) and the scattering length density contrast profile Δρ(r) = ρ(r) − ρ(solvent), obtained by the indirect Fourier transformation and deconvolution methods. The profiles obtained for the G1 copolymer are consistent with a well-defined PS core-dPEO shell morphology, only observed previously for upper generation (G4) polymers with deuterated PS (dPS) chains grafted randomly on arborescent PS substrates. Detailed morphological analysis could not be carried out for an analogous G3 arborescent PS copolymer terminally grafted with dPEO segments due to extensive aggregation in both solvents.
ISSN:0022-2348
1525-609X
DOI:10.1080/00222348.2011.563222