ORDER-DISORDER TRANSITIONS IN COMB-LIKE POLYMER-SURFACTANT SYSTEMS INVOLVING HYDROGEN-BONDS

Conditions to obtain micro-phase separated morphologies in polymer-sur factant systems involving hydrogen bonds have been investigated using poly(4-vinyl pyridine) (P4VP) and surfactants capable of forming hydro gen bonds of different strength with the basic nitrogen of P4VP. Depen ding on the tail length, the hydrogen bonding strength, the amount of surfactant and the temperature, four different regimes have been ident ified: I. Micro-phase separated state, II. Homogeneous state exhibitin g a distinct Small Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS) peak, III. Homogeneou s state without a SAXS peak and, IV. Macro-phase separated state. Time -resolved SAXS / W(ide) A(angle) X(ray) S(cattering)/ D(ifferential) S (canning) C(alorimetry) as well as rheological measurements are used t o identify the different regimes. A simplified model description toget her with preliminary computer simulation results are presented.