Hydrophobic modification of high molar mass polyglycidol to thermosensitive polymers

The results concerning a new class of thermosensitive polymers based on modified poly(2,3-epoxypropanol-1) – the polyglycidol are presented. Thermo-responsive water-soluble poly(glycidol-co-ethyl glycidyl carbamate)s were obtained by the hydrophobic modification of hydroxyl groups of the polyglycidol chain with ethyl isocyanate. The cloud points of the synthesized poly(glycidol-co-ethyl glycidyl carbamate)s were measured by UV–VIS and the hydrodynamic behaviour of the polymer chains near the transition temperature was characterized by dynamic light scattering. The influence of copolymer composition and polymer concentration on the cloud point was investigated. The cloud point was easy controlled in a range from 22 to 81 °C by change of the degree of modification. The effect of the surfactant sodium n-dodecylsulphate (SDS) and inorganic salt (NaCl) on the temperature response of synthesized copolymer was also examined.