PHOTOPOLYMERIZATION OF MICELLE-FORMING MONOMERS .1. CHARACTERIZATION OF THE SYSTEMS BEFORE AND AFTER POLYMERIZATION

Cationic surfactants bearing a polymerizable styryl headgroup and a va riable alkyl chain (Cn-STY with n = 8, 12, and 16) have been synthesiz ed. Their aqueous solutions have been characterized by the surfactant critical micellar concentration (cmc) and aggregation number using ele ctrical conductivity, spectrofluorimetry, and time-resolved fluorescen ce quenching. The photoinitiated polymerization of these surfactants i n the micellar state led to stable and transparent or slightly bluish systems. The polymerized systems poly(Cn-STY) and the recovered polyme rs were characterized by means of several complementary techniques. Th e polymers have high molecular weights (3 X 10(5)-3 X 10(6)) which ind icate that the initial micellar structure is not preserved upon polyme rization. The structure of the polymerized systems depends on the alky l chain length of the surfactant. The poly(C16-STY) systems exhibit a structure similar to that of a polysoap with intramolecular hydrophobi c microdomains whereas the poly(C8-STY) and poly(C12-STY) systems beha ve like classical polyelectrolytes.