ISIS Neutron and Muon Source Data Journal

Link between internal structure and volume phase transition of copolymer microgels

Abstract: Microgels are responsive colloids presenting a volume phase transition (VPT) as a function of temperature associated with changes in polymer-solvent affinity. In this proposal we aim at investigating how the VPT of microgels formed by two different thermoresponsive polymers (copolymer microgels) can be controlled through the design of their internal microscopic structure. For this purpose, changes in the internal structure of copolymer microgels formed by PNIPAM and PNIPMAM as a function of the molar composition and temperature will be investigated by SANS measurements of dilute suspensions. The use of partially deuterated polymers will allow us to selectively investigate the internal distribution of each polymer across the VPT. Model fitting and comparison with monomer-resolved simulations will allow us to link the macroscopic responsiveness to the microscopic internal structure.

Experimenter: Dr Elena Buratti
Experimenter: Professor Marco Laurati
Experimenter: Dr Andrea Scotti
Local Contact: Dr Steve King
Experimenter: Dr Francesco Brasili
Experimenter: Mr Gavino Bassu
Experimenter: Dr Emanuela Zaccarelli
Experimenter: Mr Fernando Soto Bustamante

DOI: 10.5286/ISIS.E.RB2310267

ISIS Experiment Number: RB2310267

Publisher: STFC ISIS Neutron and Muon Source

Data format: RAW/Nexus
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Data Citation

The recommended format for citing this dataset in a research publication is as:
[author], [date], [title], [publisher], [doi]

For Example:
Dr Elena Buratti et al; (2023): Link between internal structure and volume phase transition of copolymer microgels, STFC ISIS Neutron and Muon Source, https://doi.org/10.5286/ISIS.E.RB2310267

Data is released under the CC-BY-4.0 license.