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Amphiphilic single and double networks: a small-angle X-ray scattering investigation

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Abstract

We investigated the microphase-separated morphologies of water-swollen amphiphilic single and double polymer networks using small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). The networks consist of (i) a first conetwork containing hydrophobic blocks from either 2-ethylhexyl methacrylate (EHMA) or lauryl methacylate (LauMA) and hydrophilic blocks from 2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate (DMAEMA) and (ii) a second polyacrylamide (PAAm) network. The SAXS curves are modeled by spherical core-shell micelles, where densely packed hydrophobic cores are surrounded by swollen hydrophilic chains. The correlation between these hydrophobic cores is described using a hard-sphere structure factor. A Porod law and an Ornstein-Zernike structure factor are adopted to capture the strong forward scattering due to large-scale inhomogeneities and the correlation between polymer strands, respectively. The size of the hydrophobic cores depends on the degree of polymerization of the hydrophobic block: for medium and long hydrophobic blocks, several hydrophobic cores merge together to form a larger core. When the second PAAm network is present, the nanostructures of the first amphiphilic network are less well-defined.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the European Regional Development Fund, the Republic of Cyprus, and the Cyprus Research Promotion Foundation for jointly funding projects DIDAKTOR/0311/80, NEKYP/0311/27, and NEKYP/0308/02.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Fachgebiet Physik weicher Materie, Physik-Department, Technische Universität München, James-Franck-Str. 1, 85748, Garching, Germany

    Xiaohan Zhang, Konstantinos Kyriakos & Christine M. Papadakis

  2. Department of Chemistry, University of Cyprus, P.O. Box 20537, 1678, Nicosia, Cyprus

    Maria Rikkou-Kalourkoti, Elina N. Kitiri & Costas S. Patrickios

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  1. Xiaohan Zhang
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  2. Konstantinos Kyriakos
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  3. Maria Rikkou-Kalourkoti
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  4. Elina N. Kitiri
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  5. Costas S. Patrickios
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  6. Christine M. Papadakis
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Correspondence to Costas S. Patrickios or Christine M. Papadakis.

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Zhang, X., Kyriakos, K., Rikkou-Kalourkoti, M. et al. Amphiphilic single and double networks: a small-angle X-ray scattering investigation. Colloid Polym Sci 294, 1027–1036 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00396-016-3856-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00396-016-3856-0

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