Abstract
The structure of thermo sensitive poly(methoxyoligo(ethylene glycol) norbornenyl esters) homopolymers in dilute solution was investigated by Small Angle Neutron Scattering (SANS). The homopolymers consist of a polynorbornene (PNB) backbone with a degree of polymerization (DP) of 50, and each backbone monomer has a grafted Ethylene Glycol (EG) side chain with an average DP of 6.6. The hydrophobic backbone and hydrophilic side chains interact differently with solvents depending on their polarity, which makes the conformation very sensitive to the solvent quality. The polymer conformation was studied in two solvents, d-toluene and D2O, with the aim of understanding the influence of solvent/polymer interactions on the resulting structures. It was found that in a 0.5 wt. % solution in d-toluene the polymers assume wormlike chains and gradually contract with increasing polymer concentration. In a 0.5 wt. % solution in D2O, the polymers are partially contracted at room temperature and their conformation can be described by the form factor of a rigid cylinder. The volume of the cylinder shows no concentration dependence. Furthermore, the polymers in D2O collapse at higher temperatures due to decreasing solubility of the side chains in water.