Self-assembly of Polystyrene- b -poly(2-vinylpyridine)- b -poly(ethylene oxide) Triblock Terpolymers

Valentina-Elena Musteata, Burhannudin Sutisna, Georgios Polymeropoulos, Apostolos Avgeropoulos, Florian Meneau, Klaus-Viktor Peinemann, Nikos Hadjichristidis, Suzana Pereira Nunes

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11 Scopus citations

Abstract

Polystyrene-b-poly(2-vinylpyridine)-b-poly(ethylene oxide) (PS-b-P2VP-b-PEO) terpolymer is a versatile polymer to form isoporous films and membranes, due to the possibility of self-assembly control and the properties of the different blocks, such as the P2VP ability of complexation, and H-bond formation, and the PEO biocompatibility. Copolymers with different block ratios and sizes were synthesized. The correlation between their equilibrium bulk morphology, the self-assembly in dilute and semi-dilute solutions and the non-equilibrium porous structures of membranes, obtained by non-solvent induced phase separation, was investigated and discussed in detail. The characterization was performed by small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), scanning (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Hexagonal, cubic and lamellar arrangements were observed. The preparation conditions were optimized and a regular, isoporous morphology, suitable for membrane application, was successfully obtained with PS80.5k-b-P2VP64.4k-b-PEO16.1k.
Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)121-131
Number of pages11
JournalEuropean Polymer Journal
Volume100
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 8 2017

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