Smith, G.N. orcid.org/0000-0002-0074-5657, Cunningham, V.J., Canning, S.L. et al. (4 more authors) (2019) Spin-echo small-angle neutron scattering (SESANS) studies of diblock copolymer nanoparticles. Soft Matter, 15 (1). pp. 17-21. ISSN 1744-683X
Abstract
Poly(glycerol monomethacrylate)-poly(benzyl methacrylate) (PGMA-PBzMA) diblock copolymer nanoparticles were synthesized via polymerization-induced self-assembly (PISA) using reversible addition-fragmentation chain-transfer (RAFT) aqueous emulsion polymerization in D2O. Such PISA syntheses produce sterically-stabilized nanoparticles in situ and can be performed at relatively high copolymer concentrations (up to 50 wt%). This PGMA-PBzMA formulation is known to form only spherical nanoparticles in water using aqueous emulsion polymerization (Macromolecules, 2014, 47, 5613-5623), which makes it an ideal model system for exploring new characterization methods. The polymer micelles were characterized using small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and a recently developed form of neutron scattering, spin-echo small-angle neutron scattering (SESANS). As far as we are aware, this is the first report of a study of polymer micelles by SESANS, and the data agree well with reciprocal-space scattering. Using this technique enables characterization of the concentrated, as synthesized dispersions directly without dilution, and this will provide a method to study self-assembled polymer systems that have concentration dependent morphologies, while still maintaining the advantages of scattering techniques.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2019 The Royal Society of Chemistry. This is an author produced version of a paper subsequently published in Soft Matter. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Science (Sheffield) > Department of Chemistry (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 11 Jan 2019 09:54 |
Last Modified: | 16 Nov 2019 01:39 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1039/c8sm01425f |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Royal Society of Chemistry |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1039/c8sm01425f |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:140739 |