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Authors
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Muza, U. L.; Williams, C. D.; Lederer, A.
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Title
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Unravelling the thermo-responsive evolution from single-chain to multiple-chain nanoparticles by thermal field-flow fractionation
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Date
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27.06.2023
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Number
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0
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Abstract
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The amphiphilic block copolymer polystyrene–polyethylene oxide (PS–PEO) is shown for the first time to exhibit unique thermo-responsive transformation into single-chain nanoparticles (SCNPs), as characterized by thermal field-flow fractionation (ThFFF) with multiple detectors. In toluene, the PEO blocks are shown to fold and collapse into spheres that are stabilized by PS shells (SCNP-shells), and solvophobic interactions are prescribed as the critical determinant of the overall dynamics of formation as a function of temperature. Contrary to the typically expected random coil conformation, PS–PEO is shown to formulate SCNP–shell nanostructures. Below a critical temperature threshold of 20 °C, the SCNP–shell nanostructures are shown to collate into much larger, multiple-chain nanoparticles (MCNPs) with multiple morphologies. The associated conformational evolutions in microstructure from SCNP–shell nanostructures to MCNPs are characterized in-depth with respect to their size, shape, morphology, molar mass, and their respective distributions.
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Publisher
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Polymer Chemistry
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Wikidata
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Citation
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Polymer Chemistry 14 (2023) 3302-3308
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DOI
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https://doi.org/10.1039/D3PY00426K
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