Self-assembled and Nanostructured Copolymer Aggregations of the Tertiary Amine Methacrylate Based Triblock Copolymers

Abstract

The micellization behavior of novel tertiary amine methacrylate-based ABA type triblock copolymers formed by poly[2-(dimethylamino)ethylmetha crylate] [PDMA] middle block and poly[2-(diethylamino)ethylmethacrylate] [PDEA] orpoly[2-(diisopropylamino) ethyl methacrylate] [PDPA] sideblocks, PDPA<inf>m</inf>-b-PDMA<inf>n</inf>-b-PDPA<inf>l</inf>, and PDEA<inf>m</inf>-b-PDMA<inf>n</inf>-b-PDEA<inf>l</inf> was investigated. Both types of triblock copolymers were water-soluble and had potential forvarious applications due to their self- assembled andthebottom-up nano scale micellar construction. The micellar aggregations of the triblock copolymers in aqueous solutions with varying comonomer ratios, molecular weights, temperatures, and pH values were investigated by small-angle X-rayscattering and dynamic lights cattering. Compact miceller aggregations were obtained as 0.5weight percent solutionsat 20–21°C and pH 8.67 to 9.05, and characterized as polydispersed spherical core-shells. One group of triblock copolymer micelles had PDPA-cores with radii from 18 to 21Å and PDMA- shell thicknesses of 89–105 Å, where as the other group had PDEA-core spherical micelles with core radii of 60–62Å and a PDMA-shell thicknesses of 64–66 Å. © 2015, Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.