TY - JOUR A1 - Wang, Weijia A1 - Kaune, Gunar A1 - Perlich, Jan A1 - Paradakis, Christine M. A1 - Bivigou Koumba, Achille Mayelle A1 - Laschewsky, André A1 - Schlage, K. A1 - Röhlsberger, Ralf A1 - Roth, Stephan V. A1 - Cubitt, Robert A1 - Müller-Buschbaum, Peter T1 - Swelling and switching kinetics of gold coated end-capped poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) thin films N2 - Thin thermoresponsive hydrogel films of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) end-capped with n-butyltrithiocarbonate(nbc- PNIPAM) oil si I icon supports with a gold layer on top, causing an asymmetric confinement, are investigated. For two different gold layer thicknesses (nominally 0.4 and 5 rim), the swelling and switching kinetics are probed with in situ neutron reflectivity. With a temperature jump from 23 to 40 degrees C the film is switched from a swollen into a collapsed state. For the thin gold layer this switching is faster as compared to the thick gold layer. The switching is a two-step process of water release and a subsequent structural relaxation. fit swelling and deswelling cycles, aging of the films is probed. After five cycles, the film exhibits enhanced water storage capacity. Grazing-incidence small-angle X-ray scattering (GISAXS) shows that these gold coated nbc-PNIPAM films do not age with respect to the inner structure but slightly roughen at the gold surface. As revealed by atomic force microscopy, the morphology of the gold layer is changed by the water uptake and release. Y1 - 2010 UR - http://pubs.acs.org/journal/mamobx U6 - https://doi.org/10.1021/Ma902637a SN - 0024-9297 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Harms, Stephan A1 - Raetzke, Klaus A1 - Faupel, Franz A1 - Egger, Werner A1 - Ravello, Lori Boyd de A1 - Laschewsky, André A1 - Wang, Weinan A1 - Müller-Buschbaum, Peter T1 - Free volume and swelling in thin films of poly(n-isopropylacrylamide) end-capped with n-butyltrithiocarbonate N2 - The free volume in thin films of poly(N-isopropylacrylamid) end-capped with n-butyltrio-carbonate (nbc-PNIPAM) is probed with positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS). The PALS measurements are performed as function of energy to obtain depth profiles of the free volume of nbc-PNIPAM films. The range of nbc-PNIPAM films with thicknesses from 40 to 200 nm is focused. With decreasing film thickness the free volume increases in good agreement with an increase in the maximum swelling capability of the nbc-PNIPAM films. Thus in thin hydrogel films the sorption and swelling behavior is governed by free volume. Y1 - 2010 UR - http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/jhome/10003270 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/marc.201000067 SN - 1022-1336 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kreuzer, Lucas A1 - Lindenmeir, Christoph A1 - Geiger, Christina A1 - Widmann, Tobias A1 - Hildebrand, Viet A1 - Laschewsky, André A1 - Papadakis, Christine M. A1 - Müller-Buschbaum, Peter T1 - Poly(sulfobetaine) versus poly(N-isopropylmethacrylamide) BT - co-nonsolvency-type behavior of thin films in a water/methanol atmosphere JF - Macromolecules : a publication of the American Chemical Society N2 - The swelling and co-nonsolvency behaviors in pure H2O and in a mixed H2O/CH3OH vapor atmosphere of two different polar, water-soluble polymers in thin film geometry are studied in situ. Films of a zwitterionic poly(sulfobetaine), namely, poly[3-((2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl)dimethylammonio) propane-1-sulfonate] (PSPE), and a polar nonionic polymer, namely, poly(N-isopropylmethacrylamide) (PNIPMAM), are investigated in real time by spectral reflectance (SR) measurements and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Whereas PSPE is insoluble in methanol, PNIPMAM is soluble but exhibits cononsolvency behavior in water/methanol mixtures. First, the swelling of PSPE and PNIPMAM thin films in H2O vapor is followed. Subsequently, CH3OH is added to the vapor atmosphere, and its contracting effect on the water-swollen films is monitored, revealing a co-nonsolvency-type behavior for PNIPMAM and PSPE. SR measurements indicate that PSPE and PNIPMAM behave significantly different during the H2O swelling and subsequent exposure to CH3OH, not only with respect to the amounts of absorbed water and CH3OH, but also to the cosolvent-induced contraction mechanisms. While PSPE thin films exhibit an abrupt one-step contraction, the contraction of PNIPMAM thin films occurs in two steps. FTIR studies corroborate these findings on a molecular scale and reveal the role of the specific functional groups, both during the swelling and the cosolvent-induced switching of the solvation state. Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.macromol.0c02281 SN - 0024-9297 SN - 1520-5835 VL - 54 IS - 3 SP - 1548 EP - 1556 PB - American Chemical Society CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kreuzer, Lucas A1 - Widmann, Tobias A1 - Geiger, Christina A1 - Wang, Peixi A1 - Vagias, Apostolos N. A1 - Heger, Julian Eliah A1 - Haese, Martin A1 - Hildebrand, Viet A1 - Laschewsky, André A1 - Papadakis, Christine M. A1 - Müller-Buschbaum, Peter T1 - Salt-dependent phase transition behavior of doubly thermoresponsive poly(sulfobetaine)-based diblock copolymer thin films JF - Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids / American Chemical Society N2 - The water vapor-induced swelling, as well as subsequent phase-transition kinetics, of thin films of a diblock copolymer (DBC) loaded with different amounts of the salt NaBr, is investigated in situ. In dilute aqueous solution, the DBC features an orthogonally thermoresponsive behavior. It consists of a zwitterionic poly(sulfobetaine) block, namely, poly(4-(N-(3'-methacrylamidopropyl)-N, N-dimethylammonio) butane-1-sulfonate) (PSBP), showing an upper critical solution temperature, and a nonionic block, namely, poly(N-isopropylmethacrylamide) (PNIPMAM), exhibiting a lower critical solution temperature. The swelling kinetics in D2O vapor at 15 degrees C and the phase transition kinetics upon heating the swollen film to 60 degrees C and cooling back to 15 degrees C are followed with simultaneous time-of-flight neutron reflectometry and spectral reflectance measurements. These are complemented by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The collapse temperature of PNIPMAM and the swelling temperature of PSBP are found at lower temperatures than in aqueous solution, which is attributed to the high polymer concentration in the thin-film geometry. Upon inclusion of sub-stoichiometric amounts (relative to the monomer units) of NaBr in the films, the water incorporation is significantly increased. This increase is mainly attributed to a salting-in effect on the zwitterionic PSBP block. Whereas the addition of NaBr notably shifts the swelling temperature of PSBP to lower temperatures, the collapse temperature of PNIPMAM remains unaffected by the presence of salt in the films. Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.langmuir.1c01342 SN - 0743-7463 SN - 1520-5827 VL - 37 IS - 30 SP - 9179 EP - 9191 PB - American Chemical Society CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Wang, Peixi A1 - Geiger, Christina A1 - Kreuzer, Lucas A1 - Widmann, Tobias A1 - Reitenbach, Julija A1 - Liang, Suzhe A1 - Cubitt, Robert A1 - Henschel, Cristiane A1 - Laschewsky, André A1 - Papadakis, Christine M. A1 - Müller-Buschbaum, Peter T1 - Poly(sulfobetaine)-based diblock copolymer thin films in water/acetone atmosphere: modulation of water hydration and co-nonsolvency-triggered film contraction JF - Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids N2 - The water swelling and subsequent solvent exchange including co-nonsolvency behavior of thin films of a doubly thermo-responsive diblock copolymer (DBC) are studied viaspectral reflectance, time-of-flight neutron reflectometry, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The DBC consists of a thermo-responsive zwitterionic (poly(4-((3-methacrylamidopropyl) dimethylammonio) butane-1-sulfonate)) (PSBP) block, featuring an upper critical solution temperature transition in aqueous media but being insoluble in acetone, and a nonionic poly(N-isopropylmethacrylamide) (PNIPMAM) block, featuring a lower critical solution temperature transition in water, while being soluble in acetone. Homogeneous DBC films of 50-100 nm thickness are first swollen in saturated water vapor (H2OorD2O), before they are subjected to a contraction process by exposure to mixed saturated water/acetone vapor (H2OorD2O/acetone-d6 = 9:1 v/v). The affinity of the DBC film toward H2O is stronger than for D2O, as inferred from the higher film thickness in the swollen state and the higher absorbed water content, thus revealing a pronounced isotope sensitivity. During the co-solvent-induced switching by mixed water/acetone vapor, a two-step film contraction is observed, which is attributed to the delayed expulsion of water molecules and uptake of acetone molecules. The swelling kinetics are compared for both mixed vapors (H2O/acetone-d6 and D2O/acetone-d6) and with those of the related homopolymer films. Moreover, the concomitant variations of the local environment around the hydrophilic groups located in the PSBP and PNIPMAM blocks are followed. The first contraction step turns out to be dominated by the behavior of the PSBP block, where as the second one is dominated by the PNIPMAM block. The unusual swelling and contraction behavior of the latter block is attributed to its co-nonsolvency behavior. Furthermore, we observe cooperative hydration effects in the DBC films, that is, both polymer blocks influence each other's solvation behavior. Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.langmuir.2c00451 SN - 0743-7463 SN - 1520-5827 VL - 38 IS - 22 SP - 6934 EP - 6948 PB - American Chemical Society CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Adelsberger, Joseph A1 - Grillo, Isabelle A1 - Kulkarni, Amit A1 - Sharp, Melissa A1 - Bivigou Koumba, Achille Mayelle A1 - Laschewsky, André A1 - Müller-Buschbaum, Peter A1 - Papadakis, Christine M. T1 - Kinetics of aggregation in micellar solutions of thermoresponsive triblock copolymers - influence of concentration, start and target temperatures JF - Soft matter N2 - In aqueous solution, symmetric triblock copolymers with a thermoresponsive middle block and hydrophobic end blocks form flower-like core-shell micelles which collapse and aggregate upon heating through the cloud point (CP). The collapse of the micellar shell and the intermicellar aggregation are followed in situ and in real-time using time-resolved small-angle neutron scattering (SANS), while heating micellar solutions of a poly((styrene-d(8))-b-(N-isopropyl acrylamide)-b-(styrene-d(8))) triblock copolymer in D2O rapidly through their CP. The influence of polymer concentration as well as of the start and target temperatures is addressed. In all cases, the micellar collapse is very fast. The collapsed micelles immediately form small clusters which contain voids. They densify which slows down or even stops their growth. For low concentrations and target temperatures just above the CP, i.e. shallow temperature jumps, the subsequent growth of the clusters is described by diffusion-limited aggregation. In contrast, for higher concentrations and/or higher target temperatures, i.e. deep temperature jumps, intermicellar bridges dominate the growth. Eventually, in all cases, the clusters coagulate which results in macroscopic phase separation. For shallow temperature jumps, the cluster surfaces stay rough; whereas for deep temperature jumps, a concentration gradient develops at late stages. These results are important for the development of conditions for thermal switching in applications, e.g. for the use of thermoresponsive micellar systems for transport and delivery purposes. Y1 - 2013 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1039/c2sm27152d SN - 1744-683X VL - 9 IS - 5 SP - 1685 EP - 1699 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry CY - Cambridge ER - 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 - 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 - TY - JOUR A1 - Adelsberger, Joseph A1 - Kulkarni, Amit A1 - Jain, Abhinav A1 - Wang, Weinan A1 - Bivigou Koumba, Achille Mayelle A1 - Busch, Peter A1 - Pipich, Vitaliy A1 - Holderer, Olaf A1 - Hellweg, Thomas A1 - Laschewsky, André A1 - Müller-Buschbaum, Peter A1 - Papadakis, Christine M. T1 - Thermoresponsive PS-b-PNIPAM-b-PS micelles : aggregation behavior, segmental dynamics, and thermal response N2 - We have studied I lie thermal behavior of amphiphilic, symmetric triblock copolymers having short, deuterated polystyrene (PS) end blocks and a large poly(N-isopropylacrylarnicle) (PNIPAM) middle block exhibiting a lower critical solution temperature (LCST) in aqueous solution. A wide range of concentrations (0.1-300 mg/mL) is investigated using it number of analytical methods such as fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS), turbidimetry, dynamic light scattering (DLS), small-angle neutron scattering (SANS), and neutron spin-echo spectroscopy (NSE). The critical micelle concentration is determined using FCS to be 1 mu M or less. The collapse of the micelles at the LCST is investigated using turbidimetry and DLS and shows a weak dependence on the degree of polymerization of the PNIPAM block. SANS with contrast matching allows its to reveal the core-shell Structure of the micelles as well as their correlation as a function of temperature. The segmental dynamics of the PNIPAM shell are studied as a function of temperature and arc found to be faster in the collapsed state than in the swollen state. The mode detected has a linear dispersion in q(2) and is found to be faster in the collapsed state as compared to the swollen state. We attribute this result to the averaging over mobile and immobilized segments. Y1 - 2010 UR - http://pubs.acs.org/journal/mamobx U6 - https://doi.org/10.1021/Ma902714p SN - 0024-9297 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bivigou Koumba, Achille Mayelle A1 - Goernitz, Eckhard A1 - Laschewsky, André A1 - Müller-Buschbaum, Peter A1 - Papadakis, Christine M. T1 - Thermoresponsive amphiphilic symmetrical triblock copolymers with a hydrophilic middle block made of poly(N- isopropylacrylamide) : synthesis, self-organization, and hydrogel formation N2 - Several series of symmetrical triblock copolymers were synthesized by the reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer method. They consist of a long block of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) as hydrophilic, thermoresponsive middle block, which is end-capped by two small strongly hydrophobic blocks made from five different vinyl polymers. The association of the amphiphilic polymers was studied in dilute and concentrated aqueous solution. The polymer micelles found at low concentrations form hydrogels at high concentrations, typically above 30-35 wt.%. Hydrogel formation and the thermosensitive rheological behavior were studied exemplarily for copolymers with hydrophobic blocks of polystyrene, poly(2-ethylhexyl acrylate), and poly(n-octadecyl acrylate). All systems exhibited a cloud point around 30 A degrees C. Heating beyond the cloud point initially favors hydrogel formation but continued heating results in macroscopic phase separation. The rheological behavior suggests that the copolymers associate into flower-like micelles, with only a small share of polymers that bridge the micelles and act as physical cross-linkers, even at high concentrations. Y1 - 2010 UR - http://www.springerlink.com/content/101551 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00396-009-2179-9 SN - 0303-402X ER -