Cosolvent Control of Lower and Upper Critical Solution Behavior in Polyelectrolyte Complexes.

ABSTRACT: We report that polar cosolvent-water mixtures offer a unique approach to controlling the liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) of polyelectrolyte complex solutions formed from degree of polymerization-matched mixtures of strong and weak polyelectrolytes─respectively, quaternary poly(N,N-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate chloride) (qPDMAEMA) and sodium poly(acrylate) (PA). As observed in prior work, associative LLPS in water exhibits an upper-critical salt concentration with stoichiometric complexes and lower-critical solution temperature (LCST) behavior, where electrostatic correlations are believed to drive phase behavior. However, upon addition of a miscible cosolvent prior to mixing the individual polyelectrolytes at room temperature, we observe a shift in the LCST and the appearan

SUBMITTER: Ma Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12269082 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature