PHASE-TRANSITION OF SUBMICRON SIZED N-ALKYLACRYLAMIDE-DERIVATIVE COPOLYMER PARTICLES - APPLICABILITY OF PHOTON-CORRELATION SPECTROSCOPY

N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPA)/N-tert-butylacrylamide (NTBA) and NIPA/N, N-dimethylacrylamide (NDMA) submicron-sized copolymer gel particles o f various compositions were prepared by precipitation polymerization a nd their swelling behaviours were studied with different compositions and temperature using photon correlation spectroscopy. The experimenta l data showed that the volume transition temperature (T-v) of NIPA/NTB A copolymer gel decreased with increasing mole ratio of NTBA, while T- v of NIPA/NDMA copolymer gel increased with the mole ratio of NDMA. (C ) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.