resumo
This study explores the atomic-level interactions of different poly(ethylene oxide) (EO)-poly(propylene oxide) (PO)-based block copolymers (BCPs), commercially known as Pluronics, with varying hydrophilicity that influences the solution behavior within Pluronic P123 micelles as a mixed system. The critical insights into the thermoresponsiveness of P123 in the presence of different Pluronics with increasing %EO content (L61, L62, L64, and F68) is hypothesized to modulate the hydrophobic interactions, leading to distinct solution textures such as clear solution (sol), blue point (BP), and cloud point (CP). The solution relative viscosity (eta rel) and rheological analysis will depict the dynamic flow behavior and expose the viscoelastic properties of the blended system. The dynamic light scattering (DLS) analysis will exhibit a temperature-dependent variation in the hydrodynamic diameter (D h) micelle size in the examined system as a function of temperature, depicting micellar growth, while small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) will explore the intricate micellar structural dynamics in terms of size and shape using various mathematical models. Complementing these findings, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) will offer direct visualization of these micellar structures, confirming the morphological growth/transitions. Coarse-grained molecular dynamics (CG-MD) simulations will elucidate this self-assembly at the molecular scale with micelle size distributions, computed scattering intensity, density profiles, solvent-accessible surface area (SASA), diffusion coefficient (D), and mean squared displacement (MSD) profiles at elevated temperatures to uncover molecular packing and stability.
palavras-chave
BLOCK-COPOLYMERS; AQUEOUS-SOLUTIONS; IN-VITRO; DYNAMICS; BEHAVIOR; TRANSITIONS; PERCOLATION; MORPHOLOGY; SCATTERING; CURCUMIN
categoria
Chemistry; Materials Science
autores
Tripathi, N; Pérez-Sánchez, G; Schaeffer, N; Ray, D; Aswal, VK; Kuperkar, K; Coutinho, JAP; Bahadur, P
nossos autores
Germán Pérez-Sánchez
Investigador Auxiliar
Nicolas Schaeffer
Investigador AuxiliarGrupos
G4 - Materiais Renováveis e Economia Circular
G6 - Materiais Virtuais e Inteligência Artificial
agradecimentos
Funding Experiments did not receive any specific grant from any funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. Simulations were financed by the FCT program "Concurso de Projetos de Computacao Avancada-3a Edicao" with the project reference CPCA/A2/15575/2022.