Tuning solution polymer properties by binary water–ethanol solvent mixtures
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Hoogenboom, Richard; Thijs, Hanneke M. L.; Wouters, Daan; Höppener, Stephanie; Schubert, Ulrich S.
- Abstract:
- The solubility of polymers can be significantly altered by the use of solvent mixtures. The solvent
composition also effects the self-assembly properties of amphiphilic copolymers. In addition,
water–ethanol mixtures are known to exhibit abnormal physicochemical properties due to the
presence of hydration shells around the ethanol molecules, while at the same time both solvents
have very low toxicity. However, the solution properties of amphiphilic copolymers in water–
ethanol mixtures have been scarcely studied. Here we show that the solution polymer properties of
amphiphilic copoly(2-oxazoline)s can be significantly altered in binary water–ethanol mixtures
resulting in increased solubility, tuneable lower critical solution temperatures as well as polymer–
solvent combinations with both a LCST followed by an UCST and improved dispersion stability.
Surprisingly, it was found that polymers insoluble in both ethanol and water could be dissolved in
water–ethanol mixtures, opening the way to novel formulations for drug delivery or personal care
applications. Our results represent a straightforward method for tuning solution polymer
properties without the synthetic efforts that are generally required to change the copolymer
composition and properties.
- Year:
- 2008
- Type of Publication:
- Article
- Journal:
- Soft Matter
- Volume:
- 4
- Pages:
- 103 - 107