TY - JOUR A1 - Adelsberger, Joseph A1 - Bivigou Koumba, Achille Mayelle A1 - Miasnikova, Anna A1 - Busch, Peter A1 - Laschewsky, André A1 - Müller-Buschbaum, Peter A1 - Papadakis, Christine M. T1 - Polystyrene-block-poly (methoxy diethylene glycol acrylate)-block-polystyrene triblock copolymers in aqueous solution-a SANS study of the temperature-induced switching behavior JF - Colloid and polymer science : official journal of the Kolloid-Gesellschaft N2 - A concentrated solution of a symmetric triblock copolymer with a thermoresponsive poly(methoxy diethylene glycol acrylate) (PMDEGA) middle block and short hydrophobic, fully deuterated polystyrene end blocks is investigated in D2O where it undergoes a lower critical solution temperature-type phase transition at ca. 36 A degrees C. Small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) in a wide temperature range (15-50 A degrees C) is used to characterize the size and inner structure of the micelles as well as the correlation between the micelles and the formation of aggregates by the micelles above the cloud point (CP). A model featuring spherical core-shell micelles, which are correlated by a hard-sphere potential or a sticky hard-sphere potential together with a Guinier form factor describing aggregates formed by the micelles above the CP, fits the SANS curves well in the entire temperature range. The thickness of the thermoresponsive micellar PMDEGA shell as well as the hard-sphere radius increase slightly already below the cloud point. Whereas the thickness of the thermoresponsive micellar shell hardly shrinks when heating through the CP and up to 50 A degrees C, the hard-sphere radius decreases within 3.5 K at the CP. The volume fraction decreases already significantly below the CP, which may be at the origin of the previously observed gel-sol transition far below the CP (Miasnikova et al., Langmuir 28: 4479-4490, 2012). Above the CP, small, and at higher temperatures, large aggregates are formed by the micelles. KW - Hydrogel KW - Thermoresponsive KW - LCST behavior KW - SANS Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00396-015-3535-6 SN - 0303-402X SN - 1435-1536 VL - 293 IS - 5 SP - 1515 EP - 1523 PB - Springer CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Zhong, Qi A1 - Adelsberger, Joseph A1 - Niedermeier, M. A. A1 - Golosova, Anastasi A1 - Bivigou Koumba, Achille Mayelle A1 - Laschewsky, André A1 - Funari, S. S. A1 - Papadakis, Christine M. A1 - Müller-Buschbaum, Peter T1 - The influence of selective solvents on the transition behavior of poly(styrene-b-monomethoxydiethylenglycol-acrylate-b-styrene) thick films JF - Colloid and polymer science : official journal of the Kolloid-Gesellschaft N2 - Thick poly(styrene-b-monomethoxydiethylenglycol-acrylate-b-styrene) [P(S-b-MDEGA-b-S)] films (thickness 5 mu m) are prepared from different solvents on flexible substrates by solution casting and investigated with small-angle X-ray scattering. As the solvents are either PS- or PMDEGA-selective, micelles with different core-shell micellar structures are formed. In PMDEGA-selective solvents, the PS block is the core and PMDEGA is the shell, whereas in PS-selective solvents, the order is reversed. After exposing the films to liquid D2O, the micellar structure inside the films prepared from PMDEGA-selective solvents remains unchanged and only the PMDEGA (shell part) swells. On the contrary, in the films prepared from PS-selective solvents, the micelles revert the core and the shell. This reversal causes more entanglements of the PMDEGA chains between the micelles. Moreover, the thermal collapse transition of the PMDEGA block in liquid D2O is significantly broadened. Irrespective of the solvent used for film preparation, the swollen PMDEGA shell does not show a prominent shrinkage when passing the phase transition, and the transition process occurs via compaction. The collapsed micelles have a tendency to densely pack above the transition temperature. KW - Hydrogel KW - Thin film KW - Thermo-responsive KW - LCST behavior KW - SAXS Y1 - 2013 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00396-012-2879-4 SN - 0303-402X VL - 291 IS - 6 SP - 1439 EP - 1451 PB - Springer CY - New York ER -