1. Micellization and Phase Separation for Triblock Copolymer 17R4 in H2O and in D2O Sandra C. Greer, The University of Maryland, College Park and Mills College
The aim of the research is to determine the behavior of block copolymers that form micelles in solvents that show liquid-liquid miscibility gaps. The triblock copolymer Pluronic 17R4, poly(propylene oxide)-b-poly(ethylene oxide)-b-poly(propylene oxide), in H2O or in D2O shows both a transition to aggregated micellar species at lower temperatures and a separation into copolymer-rich and copolymer-poor liquid phases at higher temperatures. In both H2O and in D2O, the lower consolute temperatures and compositions differ from the minima in the cloud point curves, which is an indication of polydispersity in the aggregated species. For 17R4 in both H2O and D2O, the critical composition is 0.22 ± 0.01 in volume fraction. The critical temperatures do differ: 44.8 ºC in H2O and 43.6 ºC in D2O.
PHASE DIAGRAM OF 17R4 IN D2O