Dr. Bart-Jan Niebuur

Identification and control of the disintegration mechanism of polymer nanoparticles are essential for applications in transport and release including polymer delivery systems. Structural changes during the disintegration of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) mesoglobules in aqueous solution are studied in situ and in real time using kinetic small-angle neutron scattering with a time resolution of 50 ms. Simultaneously length scales between 1 and 100 nm are resolved. By initiating phase separation through fast pressure jumps across the coexistence line, 3 wt% PNIPAM solutions are rapidly brought into the one-phase state. Starting at the same temperature (35.1 °C) and pressure (17 MPa) the target pressure is varied over the range 25–48 MPa, allowing to systematically alter the osmotic pressure of the solvent within the mesoglobules. Initially, the mesoglobules have a radius of gyration of about 80 nm and contain a small amount of water. Two disintegration mechanisms are identified: (i) for target pressures close to the coexistence line, single polymers are released from the surface of the mesoglobules, and the mesoglobules decrease in size, which takes ∼30 s. (ii) For target pressures more distant from the coexistence line, the mesoglobules are swollen by water, and subsequently the chains become more and more loosely associated. In this case, disintegration proceeds within less than 10 s, controlled by the osmotic pressure of the solvent.

We investigate active droplets that form at the expense of a chemical fuel in aqueous buffer and vanish autonomously. Dynamic light scattering reveals the scattered intensity, the hydrodynamic radius, and the width of the size distribution with high precision as well as high temporal and spatial resolutions. Comparing the resulting time-dependent behavior of the droplet characteristics with the time-dependent concentration of the anhydrides, the roles of the chemical reaction cycle and of colloidal growth processes are elucidated. The droplet sizes and lifetimes depend strongly on the hydrophobicity of the precursor, and the growth rate is found to correlate with the deactivation rate of the product.

The statistical anionic copolymerisation of the biobased monomer β-myrcene with styrene in cyclohexane was investigated via in situ near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy, focusing on the influence of the modifiers (i.e., Lewis bases) tetrahydrofuran (THF) and 2,2-di(2-tetrahydrofuryl)propane (DTHFP) on the reactivity ratios. With increasing [modifier]/[Li] ratio, the reactivity ratios in the system myrcene/styrene are adjustable from rS ≪ rMyr via rS ≈ rMyr to rS ≫ rMyr. The bidentate modifier DTHFP affects the reactivity ratios much more than THF: minute amounts only (0.35 equivalent relative to Li) are required to randomize the copolymer, and one equivalent to invert the reactivity ratios. Using these reactivity ratios, copolymer composition profiles are obtained, which upon increasing the modifier concentration vary from tapered, block-like copolymers to random to inversely tapered copolymers. 1H-NMR spectroscopy was used to determine the microstructure of the myrcene units in the copolymers. With increasing [modifier]/[Li] ratio, the content of 1,4-units decreases and the content of 3,4- and 1,2-units increases. DTHFP as a modifier minimizes the content of 1,2-units. The glass transition temperatures also depend on the [modifier]/[Li] ratio, but less strongly than in the copolymer poly(styrene-co-isoprene). Although all copolymers have the same composition (33%mol myrcene, corresponding to 39.6%weight and 45%vol), very similar molecular weights (about 90 kg mol−1) and low dispersities (1.06 to 1.10), different morphologies could be obtained. Lamellar, cylindrical and gyroid structures were identified by TEM and SAXS measurements. The mechanical properties vary in a wide range from hard and brittle to soft and flexible. The gyroid structure showed the highest Young's modulus and no viscoelastic deformation.