Influence of charge distribution on the conformation of neutral polyampholytes

Summary Two polyampholyte copolymers based on sodium-2-acrylamido-2-methylsulfonate (NaAMPS) and methacryloyloxyethyltrimethylammonium chloride (MADQUAT) have been prepared either in homogeneous solution or by an inverse microemulsion polymerization technique. The copolymer microstructure was shown to depend on the method of preparation. The microemulsion polymerization yields copolymers with a monomer sequence distribution not far from random while those obtained by polymerization in solution have a strong tendency to alternation. The aqueous-solution properties of the two samples have been investigated by viscometry. The results show that the charge distribution along the copolymer chain affects considerably its conformation, in good agreement with recent theoretical studies. Paper presented at the I International Conference on Scaling Concepts and Complex Fluids, Copanello, Italy, July 4–8, 1994     

Rheological properties of multisticker associative polyelectrolytes in semidilute aqueous solutions

Multisticker associative polyelectrolytes of acrylamide (≈86 mol %) and sodium 2‐acrylamido‐2‐methylpropanesulfonate (≈12 mol %), hydrophobically modified with N,N‐dihexylacrylamide groups (≈2 mol %), were prepared with a micellar radical polymerization technique. This process led to multiblock polymers in which the length of the hydrophobic blocks could be controlled through variations in the surfactant‐to‐hydrophobe molar ratio, that is, the number of hydrophobes per micelle (N_H). The rheological behavior of aqueous solutions of polymers with the same molecular weight and the same composition but with two different hydrophobic block lengths (N_H = 7 or 3 monomer units per block) was investigated as a function of the polymer concentration with steady‐flow, creep, and oscillatory experiments. The critical concentration at the onset of the viscosity enhancement decreased as the length of the hydrophobic segments in the polymers increased. Also, an increase in the N_H value significantly enhanced the thickening ability of the polymers and affected the structure of the transient network. In the semidilute unentangled regime, the behavior of the polymer with long hydrophobic segments (N_H = 7) was studied in detail. The results were well explained by the sticky Rouse theory of associative polymer dynamics. Finally, the viscosity decreased with an increase in the temperature, mainly because of a lowering of the sample relaxation time. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 1640–1655, 2004     

Effect of solution components on the termination mechanism in acrylamide microemulsion polymerizations

A study of the effect of the various solution components on the kinetics of the polymerization of acrylamide in water/oil (w/o) microemulsions has been performed. For the polymerizations with toluene as the continuous phase, both the rate of polymerization, R_p, and the molecular weight of the polyacrylamide were found to be first order in monomer concentration. Furthermore, for the low temperatures (10°C) involved in these experiments, nondegradative chain transfer to monomer appears to be insignificant. When the continuous-phase solvent was changed, an exponential dependence, X, of R_p on the incident light intensity in the order of toluene (X = 1.06) > heptane (X = 0.73) > benzene (X = 0.55) was found. Thus, the monoradical termination found in the toluene microemulsions is likely due to degradative transfer to toluene, forming a stable benzyl radical, while polymerization in benzene (no labile hydrogen atoms) leads to biradical termination     

STUDIES OF ADHESION OF METAL PARTICLES TO SILICA PARTICLES BASED ON ZETA POTENTIAL MEASUREMENTS

The zeta-potentials of silica, copper, platinum and gold particles have been measured as a function of pH. The isoelectric points were found to be at pH 3.0, 5.8, 3.0 and 3.5, respectively. In the pH range 3.0 to 5.8 copper and silica particles are oppositely charged and accordingly the coating of silica with copper particles could be demonstrated. In the case of gold and platinum the sign of the charge is such that direct adhesion to silica particles cannot be expected and this was also demonstrated in the case of platinum.     

Synergistic effects in mixed wormlike micelles of dimeric and single-chain cationic surfactants at high ionic strength

The mixed micellization between the cationic gemini surfactant [ C₁₂H₂₅( CH₃)₂N⁺( C₂H₄) N⁺( CH₃)₂ C₁₂H₂₅•2Br^-] and the cationic cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) in 150 mM KBr solutions has been investigated. The variation of the cmc of the mixtures, measured by surface tension experiments, with composition revealed synergism in micelle formation. T-Jump and light scattering experiments performed in the vicinity of the crossover volume fraction showed the existence of two micellar populations, possibly linear and toroidal micelles. Rheological and dynamic light scattering experiments allowed to fully characterize the linear viscoelasticity of the mixtures. These measurements revealed synergistic gains in viscoelastic properties with a maximum of the stress-relaxation time around the equimolar composition. These effects are ascribed to a progressive intermicellar crosslinking resulting from a continuous increase of the end-cap energy with the 12-2-12 content in the mixture. Received: 18 November 2002 / Accepted: 8 April 2003 / Published online: 27 May 2003 RID="a" ID="a"e-mail: candau@fresnel.u-strasbg.fr     

Fluorocarbon polymerizable surfactants: viscometric behavior, micellar polymerization and interactions with associating polymers

 The micellar aggregation of two fluorocarbon surfactants bearing a polymerizable acrylamido group and differing only in the degree of amido substitution (CONH or CONC₂H₅) has been investigated by viscometry. The two surfactants exhibit distinct solution properties with a micellar growth occurring at a much lower concentration for the N-monosubstituted sample which shows in addition a shear thickening and rheopectic behavior. The ability of the latter surfactant to form hydrogen bonding is responsible for this difference in behavior. Micellar copolymerization of acrylamide with these surfactants or with a hydrocarbon analogue gives copolymers with a polysoap-like behavior. The copolymers in aqueous solution show a pronounced intramolecular hydrophobic aggregation expressed by relatively low-viscosity values when compared with those of other hydrophobically modified water-soluble polymers reported in the literature. Surfactant–polymer mixed systems do not show a strong incompatibility between fluorocarbon and hydrocarbon moieties. Received: 24 March 1998 Accepted: 30 June 1998