TY - JOUR A1 - Zhong, Qi A1 - Mi, Lei A1 - Metwalli, Ezzeldin A1 - Biessmann, Lorenz A1 - Philipp, Martine A1 - Miasnikova, Anna A1 - Laschewsky, Andre A1 - Papadakis, Christine M. A1 - Cubitt, Robert A1 - Schwartzkopf, Matthias A1 - Roth, Stephan V. A1 - Wang, Jiping A1 - Müller-Buschbaum, Peter T1 - Effect of chain architecture on the swelling and thermal response of star-shaped thermo-responsive (poly(methoxy diethylene glycol acrylate)-block-polystyrene)(3) block copolymer films JF - Soft matter N2 - The effect of chain architecture on the swelling and thermal response of thin films obtained from an amphiphilic three-arm star-shaped thermo-responsive block copolymer poly(methoxy diethylene glycol acrylate)-block-polystyrene ((PMDEGA-b-PS)(3)) is investigated by in situ neutron reflectivity (NR) measurements. The PMDEGA and PS blocks are micro-phase separated with randomly distributed PS nanodomains. The (PMDEGA-b-PS)(3) films show a transition temperature (TT) at 33 degrees C in white light interferometry. The swelling capability of the (PMDEGA-b-PS)(3) films in a D2O vapor atmosphere is better than that of films from linear PS-b-PMDEGA-b-PS triblock copolymers, which can be attributed to the hydrophilic end groups and limited size of the PS blocks in (PMDEGA-b-PS)(3). However, the swelling kinetics of the as-prepared (PMDEGA-b-PS)(3) films and the response of the swollen film to a temperature change above the TT are significantly slower than that in the PS-b-PMDEGA-b-PS films, which may be related to the conformation restriction by the star-shape. Unlike in the PS-b-PMDEGA-b-PS films, the amount of residual D2O in the collapsed (PMDEGA-b-PS)(3) films depends on the final temperature. It decreases from (9.7 +/- 0.3)% to (7.0 +/- 0.3)% or (6.0 +/- 0.3)% when the final temperatures are set to 35 degrees C, 45 degrees C and 50 degrees C, respectively. This temperature-dependent reduction of embedded D2O originates from the hindrance of chain conformation from the star-shaped chain architecture. Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1039/c8sm00965a SN - 1744-683X SN - 1744-6848 VL - 14 IS - 31 SP - 6582 EP - 6594 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry CY - Cambridge ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Nieuwenhuis, Sophie A1 - Zhong, Qi A1 - Metwalli, Ezzeldin A1 - Biessmann, Lorenz A1 - Philipp, Martine A1 - Miasnikova, Anna A1 - Laschewsky, Andre A1 - Papadakis, Christine M. A1 - Cubitt, Robert A1 - Wang, Jiping A1 - Müller-Buschbaum, Peter T1 - Hydration and Dehydration Kinetics: Comparison between Poly(N-isopropyl methacrylamide) and Poly(methoxy diethylene glycol acrylate) Films JF - Langmuir N2 - Thermoresponsive films of poly(N-isopropyl methacrylamide) (PNIPMAM) and poly(methoxy diethylene glycol acrylate) (PMDEGA) are compared with respect to their hydration and dehydration kinetics using in situ neutron reflectivity. Both as-prepared films present a homogeneous single-layer structure and have similar transition temperatures of the lower critical solution temperature type (TT, PNIPMAM 38 degrees C and PMDEGA 41 degrees C). After hydration in unsaturated D2O vapor at 23 degrees C, a D2O enrichment layer is observed in PNIPMAM films adjacent to the Si substrate. In contrast, two enrichment layers are present in PMDEGA films (close to the vapor interface and the Si substrate). PNIPMAM films exhibit a higher hydration capability, ascribed to having both donor (N-H) and acceptor (C=O) units for hydrogen bonds. "While the swelling of the PMDEGA films is mainly caused by the increase of the enrichment layers, the thickness of the entire PNIPMAM films increases with time. The observed longer relaxation time for swelling of PNIPMAM films is attributed to the much higher glass transition temperature of PNIPMAM. When dehydrating both films by increasing the temperature above the TT, they react with a complex response consisting of three stages (shrinkage, rearrangement, and reswelling). PNIPMAM films respond faster than PMDEGA films. After dehydration, both films still contain a large amount of D2O, and no completely dry film state is reached for a temperature above their TTs. Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.langmuir.9b00535 SN - 0743-7463 VL - 35 IS - 24 SP - 7691 EP - 7702 PB - American Chemical Society CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Zhong, Qi A1 - Metwalli, Ezzeldin A1 - Rawolle, Monika A1 - Kaune, Gunar A1 - Bivigou Koumba, Achille Mayelle A1 - Laschewsky, Andre A1 - Papadakis, Christine M. A1 - Cubitt, Robert A1 - Wang, Jiping A1 - Müller-Buschbaum, Peter T1 - Vacuum induced dehydration of swollen poly(methoxy diethylene glycol acrylate) and polystyrene-block-poly(methoxy diethylene glycol acrylate)-block-polystyrene films probed by in-situ neutron reflectivity JF - Polymer : the international journal for the science and technology of polymers N2 - The isothermal vacuum-induced dehydration of thin films made of poly(methoxy diethylene glycol acrylate) (PMDEGA), which were swollen under ambient conditions, is studied. The dehydration behavior of the homopolymer film as well as of a nanostructured film of the amphiphilic triblock copolymer polystyrene-block-poly(methoxy diethylene glycol acrylate)-block-polystyrene, abbreviated as PS-b-PMDEGA-b-PS, are probed, and compared to the thermally induced dehydration behavior of such thin thermo-responsive films when they pass through their LCST-type coil-to globule collapse transition. The dehydration kinetics is followed by in-situ neutron reflectivity measurements. Contrast results from the use of deuterated water. Water content and film thickness are significantly reduced during the process, which can be explained by Schott second order kinetics theory for both films. The water content of the dehydrated equilibrium state from this model is very close to the residual water content obtained from the final static measurements, indicating that residual water still remains in the film even after prolonged exposure to the vacuum. In the PS-b-PMDEGA-b-PS film that shows micro-phase separation, the hydrophobic PS domains modify the dehydration process by hindering the water removal, and thus retarding dehydration by about 30%. Whereas residual water remains tightly bound in the PMDEGA domains, water is completely removed from the PS domains of the block copolymer film. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. KW - Dehydration KW - Vacuum drying KW - In-situ neutron reflectivity Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymer.2017.07.066 SN - 0032-3861 SN - 1873-2291 VL - 124 SP - 263 EP - 273 PB - Elsevier CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Zhong, Qi A1 - Metwalli, Ezzeldin A1 - Rawolle, Monika A1 - Kaune, Gunar A1 - Bivigou Koumba, Achille Mayelle A1 - Laschewsky, Andre A1 - Papadakis, Christine M. A1 - Cubitt, Robert A1 - Wang, Jiping A1 - Müller-Buschbaum, Peter T1 - Influence of Hydrophobic Polystyrene Blocks on the Rehydration of Polystyrene-block-poly(methoxy diethylene glycol acrylate)-block-polystyrene Films Investigated by in Situ Neutron Reflectivity JF - Macromolecules : a publication of the American Chemical Society N2 - The rehydration of thermoresponsive polystyrene-block-poly(methoxy diethylene glycol acrylate)-block-polystyrene (PS-b-PMDEGA-b-PS) films forming a lamellar microphase-separated structure is investigated by in situ neutron reflectivity in a D2O vapor atmosphere. The rehydration of collapsed PS-b-PMDEGA-b-PS films is realized by a temperature change from 45 to 23 degrees C and comprises (1) condensation and absorption of D2O, (2) evaporation of D2O, and (3) reswelling of the film due to internal rearrangement. The hydrophobic PS layers hinder the absorption of condensed D2O, and a redistribution of embedded D2O between the hydrophobic PS layers and the hydrophilic PMDEGA layers is observed. In contrast, the rehydration of semiswollen PS-b-PMDEGA-b-PS films (temperature change from 35 to 23 degrees C) shows two prominent differences: A thicker D2O layer condenses on the surface, causing a more enhanced evaporation of D2O. The rehydrated films differ in film thickness and volume fraction of D2O, which is due to the different thermal protocols, although the final temperature is identical. Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.macromol.5b02279 SN - 0024-9297 SN - 1520-5835 VL - 49 SP - 317 EP - 326 PB - American Chemical Society CY - Washington ER -