Self-assembly in the solutions of poly(methyl methacrylates) end-capped with fluorophenyl groups
AbstractSelf-assembly of poly(methyl methacrylates) end-capped with -Ge(C6F5)3 groups (PMMA-F) has been studied in a selective solvent (acetone) by means of photon correlation spectroscopy and static light scattering. PMMA-F’s of different molecular weights (MW), were obtained by radical polymerization in the presence of a chain transfer agent, HGe(C6F5)3. At MW>130 000 conformational and hydrodynamic properties of PMMA-F’s is shown to be the same as of PMMA. At MW less than130 000 an aggregation starts: additional fraction of large scatterers appears in PCS. Large aggregates of Rh=200 - 300 nm are likely to be formed by bridged micellar clusters. Presence of large aggregates indicates a super strong segregation limit predicted in the work of Semenov et al.