Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
5188200 | Polymer | 2009 | 7 Pages |
The self-assembly of the dense graft copolymers ethyl cellulose-graft-polystyrene (EC-g-PS) in acetone was investigated by using dynamic light scattering (DLS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It was found that EC-g-PS copolymers can self-assemble into spherical micelles in acetone. The micelles' size increases with increasing the copolymer concentration and the PS side-chain length. Moreover, the copolymers can self-assemble into multimolecular micelles at relatively high polymer concentration while unimolecular micelles can be formed at low concentration. The micelles have a core-shell structure with the ethyl cellulose main chains in the shell and the side polystyrene chains in the core of the micelles.
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