TY  - JOUR
A1  - Miasnikova, Anna
A1  - Laschewsky, André
A1  - De Paoli, Gabriele
A1  - Papadakis, Christine M.
A1  - Müller-Buschbaum, Peter
A1  - Funari, Sergio S.
T1  - Thermoresponsive Hydrogels from Symmetrical Triblock Copolymers Poly(styrene-block-(methoxy diethylene glycol acrylate)-block-styrene)
JF  - Langmuir
N2  - A series of symmetrical, thermo-responsive triblock copolymers was prepared by reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization, and studied in aqueous solution with respect to their ability to form hydrogels. Triblock copolymers were composed of two identical, permanently hydrophobic outer blocks, made of low molar mass polystyrene, and of a hydrophilic inner block of variable length, consisting of poly(methoxy diethylene glycol acrylate) PMDEGA. The polymers exhibited a LCST-type phase transition in the range of 20-40 degrees C, which markedly depended on molar mass and concentration. Accordingly, the triblock copolymers behaved as amphiphiles at low temperatures, but became water-insoluble at high temperatures. The temperature dependent self-assembly of the amphiphilic block copolymers in aqueous solution was studied by turbidimetry and rheology at concentrations up to 30 wt %, to elucidate the impact of the inner thermoresponsive block on the gel properties. Additionally, small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) was performed to access the structural changes in the gel with temperature. For all polymers a gel phase was obtained at low temperatures, which underwent a gel-sol transition at intermediate temperatures, well below the cloud point where phase separation occurred. With increasing length of the PMDEGA inner block, the gel-sol transition shifts to markedly lower concentrations, as well as to higher transition temperatures. For the longest PMDEGA block studied (DPn about 450), gels had already formed at 3.5 wt % at low temperatures. The gel-sol transition of the hydrogels and the LCST-type phase transition of the hydrophilic inner block were found to be independent of each other.
Y1  - 2012
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1021/la204665q
SN  - 0743-7463
VL  - 28
IS  - 9
SP  - 4479
EP  - 4490
PB  - American Chemical Society
CY  - Washington
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Zhong, Qi
A1  - Wang, Weinan
A1  - Adelsberger, Joseph
A1  - Golosova, Anastasia
A1  - Koumba, Achille M. Bivigou
A1  - Laschewsky, André
A1  - Funari, Sergio S.
A1  - Perlich, Jan
A1  - Roth, Stephan V.
A1  - Papadakis, Christine M.
A1  - Müller-Buschbaum, Peter
T1  - Collapse transition in thin films of poly(methoxydiethylenglycol acrylate)
JF  - Colloid and polymer science : official journal of the Kolloid-Gesellschaft
N2  - The thermal behavior of poly(methoxydiethylenglycol acrylate) (PMDEGA) is studied in thin hydrogel films on solid supports and is compared with the behavior in aqueous solution. The PMDEGA hydrogel film thickness is varied from 2 to 422 nm. Initially, these films are homogenous, as measured with optical microscopy, atomic force microscopy, X-ray reflectivity, and grazing-incidence small-angle X-ray scattering (GISAXS). However, they tend to de-wet when stored under ambient conditions. Along the surface normal, no long-ranged correlations between substrate and film surface are detected with GISAXS, due to the high mobility of the polymer at room temperature. The swelling of the hydrogel films as a function of the water vapor pressure and the temperature are probed for saturated water vapor pressures between 2,380 and 3,170 Pa. While the swelling capability is found to increase with water vapor pressure, swelling in dependence on the temperature revealed a collapse phase transition of a lower critical solution temperature type. The transition temperature decreases from 40.6 A degrees C to 36.6 A degrees C with increasing film thickness, but is independent of the thickness for very thin films below a thickness of 40 nm. The observed transition temperature range compares well with the cloud points observed in dilute (0.1 wt.%) and semi-dilute (5 wt.%) solution which decrease from 45 A degrees C to 39 A degrees C with increasing concentration.
KW  - Hydrogel
KW  - Thin film
KW  - Thermoresponsive
KW  - LCST behavior
KW  - GISAXS
KW  - AFM
Y1  - 2011
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00396-011-2384-1
SN  - 0303-402X
VL  - 289
IS  - 5-6
SP  - 569
EP  - 581
PB  - Springer
CY  - New York
ER  -