Structural Changes in Block Copolymer Micelles Induced by Cosolvent Mixtures

Published

May 23, 2011

Author(s)

Elizabeth G. Kelley, Thomas P. Smart, Andrew Jackson, Millicent O. Sullivan, Thomas H. Epps

Abstract

The addition of tetrahydrofuran (THF) to aqueous solutions of poly(1,2-butadiene-b-ethylene oxide) [PBPEO] micelles decreased the core-corona interfacial tension. This reduced interfacial tension led to a decrease in micelle size and broadening of the core-corona interface, which resulted in increased solvent 10 accessibility of the PB chains at intermediate THF solvent fractions. We quantified changes in the micelle composition profile primarily through detailed modeling of small angle neutron scattering (SANS) data. By manipulating the THF content in the cosolvent mixtures, we tuned the micelle core size, the corona thickness, and the fraction of the solvent accessible PB chains in our nanoscale assemblies, which will allow further functionalization of the micelle structures

Citation

Soft Matter

Volume

7

Pub Type

Journals

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Keywords

SANS, block copolymer, swelling, drug delivery

Citation

Kelley, E. , Smart, T. , Jackson, A. , Sullivan, M. and Epps, T. (2011), Structural Changes in Block Copolymer Micelles Induced by Cosolvent Mixtures, Soft Matter, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=908245 (Accessed October 22, 2025)