水溶液中Pluronic嵌段共聚物聚集行为的介观模拟

通过介观动力学方法(MesoDyn)研究了低浓度下的三嵌段共聚物PEO27PPO61PEO27 (P104)水溶液的聚集行为, 讨论了聚合物浓度、模拟时间对P104水溶液相行为的影响. 在聚合物浓度较低(φ<35%)的情况下, 可以形成三种不同的胶束聚集体：球形胶束(spherical micelle)、胶束簇(micellar cluster)和盘状胶束(disk-like micelle). (1) 球形胶束(5%-10%, φ), 模拟的胶束结构表明疏水的PPO嵌段形成球形内核(micellar core), 而亲水的PEO嵌段形成核壳(micellar corona), 并有水分子存在内核和核壳之中；(2) 胶束簇(11%-15%, φ), 由于球形胶束之间的缔合, 形成直径明显高于球形胶束的聚集体, 其半径比球形胶束大1 nm左右；(3) 盘状胶束(16%-25%, φ), 胶束簇核壳PEO嵌段之间的相互缠绕, 形成了成串的类似盘状的胶束. 模拟中有序参数随浓度的变化证明了这种结构划分的合理性.

Mesoscopic Simulation of the Phase Separation on Triblock Copolymer in Aqueous Solution

The microphase separation dynamics of triblock copolymer surfactant [(ethylene oxide)27(propylene oxide)61-(ethylene oxide)27](P104) in aqueous solution was simulated by a dynamic variant of mean-field density functional theory for Gaussian chains. Different morphologies depending on the simulation concentration and time were shown in low concentration (φ<35%). With the increase of the concentration, the self-assemble aggregates changed from spherical micelles, micellar clusters, to disk-like micelles. (1) In the spherical micellar region (5%-10%, φ), the result of the simulation was similar to that of the experiment in that micelle was a dense core consisting mainly of PPO and a hydrated PEO swollen corona. (2) Due to the coalescence among spherical micelles, larger micellar clusters are formed in a concentration ranging from 11% to 15%(φ). (3) Owing to the attractions between the PEO coronas of micellar clusters, series of disk-like micelles were found above the concentration 16%(φ). The order parameters showed that the phase separation of spherical micelles was easily formed, while the micellar cluster or disk-like micelles required a longer time to acquire steady equilibrium.