Interaction-Limited Aggregation: Fine-Tuning the Size of pNIPAM Particles by Association with Hydrophobic Ions.

ABSTRACT: We have investigated the formation of stable clusters of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (pNIPAM) chains in water at temperatures above the lower critical solution temperature (LCST), induced by the presence of sodium tetraphenylborate, NaPh₄B. The hydrophobic Ph₄B^- ions interact strongly with the pNIPAM chains, providing them with a net effective negative charge, which leads to the stabilization of pNIPAM clusters for temperatures above the LCST, with a mean cluster size that depends non-monotonically on salt concentration. Combining experiments with physical modeling at the mesoscopic level and atomistic molecular dynamic simulations, we show that this effect is caused by the interplay between the hydrophobic attraction between pNIPAM chains and the el

SUBMITTER: Faraudo J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10064791 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature