EPR Spectroscopy Provides a Molecular View on Thermoresponsive Dendronized Polymers Below the Critical Temperature
✍ Scribed by Matthias J. N. Junk; Wen Li; A. Dieter Schlüter; Gerhard Wegner; Hans W. Spiess; Afang Zhang; Dariush Hinderberger
- Book ID
- 102484233
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 2011
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 348 KB
- Volume
- 212
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 1022-1352
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✦ Synopsis
Abstract
The nanoscopic structure of thermoresponsive dendronized polymers below the critical aggregation temperature (T~C~) is revealed by CW EPR spectroscopy. At temperatures far below T~C~, the water‐swollen polymers start to dehydrate and hydrophobic cavities are formed. Two different dehydration processes can be discerned, the more effective of which is observed within 4 K below T~C~. The dehydration predominantly takes place at the peripheral dendritic shell, rendering it increasingly hydrophobic and eventually triggering an interchain aggregation and the formation of mesoglobules at the critical temperature. While the polymer aggregation is mainly dependent on the dendron periphery, the efficiency of the dehydration below T~C~ is closely related to the hydrophobicity of the dendritic core. magnified image