Star Polymers in Solution and Multilayer Assemblies
Abstract
This study focuses on understanding the effect of branching on the properties of ionic and non-ionic star polymers in solution, interpolymer complexes, and layer-by-layer films. Star polymers are a type of non-linear polymers with a high density of polymer units and compact structure that possess a variety of unique properties useful in the engineering of smart coatings and drug delivery systems. Further progress in the development of these systems requires a fundamental insight into the effect of the polymer branching on the response of star polymers to environmental stimuli. The goal of this work is to establish correlations between the branching of star polymers and their response properties to pH, temperature, and salt concentration in solution and within polymer assemblies. This goal was accomplished through a synthetic procedure that enabled the synthesis of monodisperse temperature and pH-responsive star polymers of matched molecular weight and the controlled number of arms. Moreover, this work used a combination of unique techniques such as neutron reflectivity and fluorescence recovery after photobleaching to explore the mobility of star polymers within polyelectrolyte multilayer (PEM) assemblies. The findings in this work deepen understating of the behavior of stimuli-responsive star polymers in their unbound and bound states and set the ground for a discussion regarding the mechanism of star polyelectrolytes diffusion within multilayer assemblies.
Description
Keywords
Star polymers, Polyelectrolytes, Interpolymer complexes, Layer-by-layer films