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Content archived on 2024-05-21

Synthesis and characterisation of new y-shaped, stimuli-responsive polymeric surfactants

Objective

Atom Transfert Radical Polymerisation (ATRP) has been developed at Sussex to enable the efficient synthesis of controlled structure copolymers with narrow polydispersities. Polymerisations of hydrophilic methacrylates by aqueous or alcoholic ATRP are relatively rapid, even under mild conditions. ATRP will be employed for the synthesis of novel Y-shaped polymeric surfactants based on poly (alkyleneoxides) [PEG or PPO] and polymethacrylates Commercially available poly (alkyleneoxides) will be converted, by end-group modification, into bifunctional ATRP macro-initiators. The subsequent polymerisation of various hydrophilic methacrylates via ATRP using these macro-initiators will allow access to a wide range of Y-shaped surfactants.

The aqueous solution properties of the new polymeric surfactants will be investigated using various analytical techniques, including NMR spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering and surface tensiometry. Because they are analogues of gemini surfactants, the Y-shaped polymers are expected to exhibit different behaviour compared to their linear diblock counterparts. Formation of non-spherical micelles (rods lamellae, possibly even vesicles) should be feasible at high surfactant concentrations. The presence of two methacrylic-based blocks should lead to enhanced adsorption of these surfactants at both the air-water and solid-water interface and also offer potential advantages for the formulation of concentrated emulsions. Compared with small-molecule gemini surfactants, these polymeric surfactants will offer much greater structural and compositional diversity. In particular, Y-shaped surfactants will be designed to respond to changes in either solution pH or temperature.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

Topic(s)

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Call for proposal

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Funding Scheme

RGI - Research grants (individual fellowships)

Coordinator

UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX
EU contribution
No data
Address
Falmer
BN1 9QJ BRIGHTON / FALMER
United Kingdom
Total cost
No data