Temperature-induced collapse of alkaline Earth cation-polyacrylate anion complexes

Polyacrylate anions are used to inhibit CaCO3 precipitation and may be a promising additive to control formation of inorganic nanoparticles. The origin of this applicability lies in specific interactions between the alkaline earth cations and the carboxylate functions along the polyacrylate chains. In the absence of CO32- anions, these interactions eventually cause precipitation of polyelectrolytes. Extended investigation of dilute sodium polyacrylate solutions approaching this precipitation threshold revealed a dramatic shrinking of the PA coil dimensions once the threshold is reached (Eur. Phys. J. E 2001, 5, 117). Recent isothermal calorimetric titration experiments by Antonietti et al. (Macromolecules 2004, 37, 3444) indicated that the driving force of this precipitation is entropic in nature. In the present work, we investigated the impact of temperature on the structural changes of dissolved polyacrylate chains decorated with alkaline earth cations. To this end, large polyacrylate chains were brought close to the precipitation threshold by the addition of distinct amounts of Ca2+ or Sr2+ cations. The resulting structural intermediates were then subjected to temperature variations in the range of 15 degrees C