TY  - JOUR
A1  - Zhong, Qi
A1  - Metwalli, Ezzeldin
A1  - Kaune, Gunar
A1  - Rawolle, Monika
A1  - Bivigou Koumba, Achille Mayelle
A1  - Laschewsky, André
A1  - Papadakis, Christine M.
A1  - Cubitt, Robert
A1  - Müller-Buschbaum, Peter
T1  - Switching kinetics of thin thermo-responsive hydrogel films of poly(monomethoxy-diethyleneglycol-acrylate) probed with in situ neutron reflectivity
JF  - Soft matter
N2  - The switching kinetics of thin thermo-responsive hydrogel films of poly(monomethoxy-diethyleneglycol-acrylate) (PMDEGA) are investigated. Homogeneous and smooth PMDEGA films with a thickness of 35.9 nm are prepared on silicon substrates by spin coating. As probed with white light interferometry, PMDEGA films with a thickness of 35.9 nm exhibit a phase transition temperature of the lower critical solution temperature (LCST) type of 40 degrees C. In situ neutron reflectivity is performed to investigate the thermo-responsive behavior of these PMDEGA hydrogel films in response to a sudden thermal stimulus in deuterated water vapor atmosphere. The collapse transition proceeds in a complex way which can be seen as three steps. The first step is the shrinkage of the initially swollen film by a release of water. In the second step the thickness remains constant with water molecules embedded in the film. In the third step, perhaps due to a conformational rearrangement of the collapsed PMDEGA chains, water is reabsorbed from the vapor atmosphere, thereby giving rise to a relaxation process. Both the shrinkage and relaxation processes can be described by a simple model of hydrogel deswelling.
Y1  - 2012
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1039/c2sm25401h
SN  - 1744-683X
VL  - 8
IS  - 19
SP  - 5241
EP  - 5249
PB  - Royal Society of Chemistry
CY  - Cambridge
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Adelsberger, Joseph
A1  - Metwalli, Ezzeldin
A1  - Diethert, Alexander
A1  - Grillo, Isabelle
A1  - Bivigou Koumba, Achille Mayelle
A1  - Laschewsky, André
A1  - Müller-Buschbaum, Peter
A1  - Papadakis, Christine M.
T1  - Kinetics of collapse transition and cluster formation in a thermoresponsive micellar solution of P(S-b-NIPAM-b-S) induced by a temperature jump
JF  - Macromolecular rapid communications
N2  - Structural changes at the intra- as well as intermicellar level were induced by the LCST-type collapse transition of poly(N-isopropyl acrylamide) in ABA triblock copolymer micelles in water. The distinct process kinetics was followed in situ and in real-time using time-resolved small-angle neutron scattering (SANS), while a micellar solution of a triblock copolymer, consisting of two short deuterated polystyrene endblocks and a long thermoresponsive poly(N-isopropyl acrylamide) middle block, was heated rapidly above its cloud point. A very fast collapse together with a multistep aggregation behavior is observed. The findings of the transition occurring at several size and time levels may have implications for the design and application of such thermoresponsive self-assembled systems.
KW  - polymer physics
KW  - thermoresponsive polymers
KW  - small-angle neutron scattering
KW  - time-resolved measurements
Y1  - 2012
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1002/marc.201100631
SN  - 1022-1336
VL  - 33
IS  - 3
SP  - 254
EP  - 259
PB  - Wiley-Blackwell
CY  - Malden
ER  -