Jr. Quintana et al., BLOCK-COPOLYMER MICELLES IN SOLUTIONS OF A HOMOPOLYMER - DYNAMIC LIGHT-SCATTERING AND VISCOSITY STUDIES, Polymer, 37(16), 1996, pp. 3531-3535
Solutions of polystyrene-b-poly(ethylene/propylene) block copolymer an
d homopolystyrene in toluene (a good solvent of both copolymer blocks)
were studied by dynamic light scattering and viscometry. The presence
of homopolystyrene in the solution induces the formation of micelles
with a core which consists of poly(ethylene/propylene) blocks. The dyn
amic light scattering measurements showed that these micelles have a n
arrow size distribution. The influence of the polystyrene concentratio
n on the structural parameters of the micelles was analysed. The hydro
dynamic radius and molar mass remained constant in the polystyrene con
centration range studied. However, the diffusion of the micelles was v
ery influenced by the increment of the solution viscosity caused by th
e polystyrene chains. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd.