SAXS Investigation of ABC Triblock Star Terpolymers in Aqueous Solution

Abstract

The structure of three different ABC triblock star terpolymers in aqueous solution has been investigated by small‐angle x‐ray scattering (SAXS). The form factor was modeled using an analytical expression for a Gaussian homopolymer star since the SAXS data were not sensitive to the electron density differences between blocks. The interparticle structure factor could be described by the hard sphere model. The radius of gyration of the stars is obtained by modeling of the SAXS data. The overall size of the stars is sensitive to the degree of hydrophobicity of the block located in the center of the star. The dimensions of the starblock terpolymers are compared with those obtained from light‐scattering experiments.

Keywords:

• Small angle x‐ray scattering
• ABC triblock
• Star terpolymer
• Methacrylate polymers

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by EPSRC, UK (grants GR/M51994 and GR/N22052).