Aggregation and composition effects on the cloud point of different PDMAEMA-based block copolymers

• Grant number: 22/15447-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: May 01, 2023
• End date: April 30, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Materials and Metallurgical Engineering - Nonmetallic Materials
• Principal Investigator: Fábio Herbst Florenzano
• Grantee: Vinicios Santiago Araujo
• Host Institution: Escola de Engenharia de Lorena (EEL). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Lorena , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Temperature responsive polymers are of great technological interest, undergoing phase separation at a certain temperature. They have potential uses in areas as Biomedicine, Environmental Chemistry, Separation/Purification and many others. Here block copolymers presenting LCST-behavior will be synthesized via RAFT in different compositions to have the polarity and aggregation state in aqueous media influence studied. The polar block will be constituted of PDMAEMA and blocks of different lenghts of PS will be added to that block, generating block copolymers with increasing hydrophobicity. The materials will be characterized in depth and their cloud point at fixed concentrations will be determined by turbidimetry. Previous findings point to a monotonical dependence of the cloud point point on the polarity. Beyond confirming this behavior, the aim is to check if the aggregation state (determined by DLS) is a relevant parameter on the influence of the PS length on the cloud point of such block copolymers.