The effect of macromolecular structure on the rheology and surface properties of amphiphilic random polystyrene-r-poly(meth)acrylate copolymers prepared by RDRP

Abstract

In this work rheological and surface properties of various random copolymers of styrene and sodium (meth)acrylate, prepared using reversible deactivation radical polymerization (RDRP), were studied. It is shown that the properties of these polymers in water solution, relevant for several applications, are affected by their chemical structure and molecular weight. Cryo-TEM images of their concentrated water solutions do not show the presence of nano-objects as micelles, however the existence of some aggregates seems to be confirmed by fluorescence measurements using pyrene as a hydrophobic probe and by surface tension measurements. Moreover, interesting results are displayed about the viscosity as well as the surface tension of these water polymer solutions, due probably to different interactions at the molecular level as suggested by fluorescence measurements.