Predicting the solution morphology of a sulfonated pentablock copolymer in binary solvent mixtures

E-ISSN： 1099-0488|54|2|254-262

ISSN： 0887-6266

Source： Journal of Polymer Science Part B: Polymer Physics, Vol.54, Iss.2, 2016-01, pp. : 254-262

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Abstract

The solution morphologies of a midblock‐sulfonated pentablock copolymer in miscible polar/nonpolar solvent blends were characterized as a function of solvent composition and polymer concentration using small angle X‐ray scattering. Three distinct solution morphologies are observed upon changing the composition of the solvent blend. At low weight fractions of polar solvent, spherical, sulfonated‐core micelles are observed, while spherical, sulfonated‐corona (inverted) micelles are observed at high weight fractions of polar solvent. Polymer solution scattering is observed at intermediate concentrations of polar solvent. Additionally, the characteristic dimensions of the sulfonated‐core micelles were found to change strongly upon variation of the solvent blend composition, indicating that these solutions—and correspondingly the morphology and properties of polymer membranes into which they are cast—can be tuned through simple variations in the solvent blend chemistry. We demonstrate that the solution morphologies and the characteristic micelle dimensions of these complex pentablock copolymer/binary solvent blends can be reliably predicted by considering the relative interactions of each polymer block and the solvent blend using the Hansen solubility parameters. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2016, 54, 254–262