Cononsolvency Transition of Polymer Brushes: A Combined Experimental and Theoretical Study

Abstract

In this study, the cononsolvency transition of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNiPAAm) brushes in aqueous ethanol mixtures was studied by using Vis-spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) discussed in conjunction with the adsorption-attraction model. We proved that the cononsolvency transition of PNiPAAm brushes showed features of a volume phase transition, such as a sharp collapse, reaching a maximum decrease in thickness for a very narrow ethanol volume composition range of 15% to 17%. These observations are in agreement with the recently published preferential adsorption model of the cononsolvency effect.

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Citation
Yong, H., Rauch, S., Eichhorn, K.-J., Uhlmann, P., Fery, A., & Sommer, J.-U. (2018). Cononsolvency Transition of Polymer Brushes: A Combined Experimental and Theoretical Study (Basel : MDPI). Basel : MDPI. https://doi.org//10.3390/ma11060991
License
CC BY 4.0 Unported