Micellization Studies of Block Copolymers of Poly(N-Vinyl Pyrrolidone) and Poly(Vinyl Esters) Bearing N-Alkyl Side-Groups in Tetrahydrofuran

The association behavior of amphiphilic block copolymers of N-vinyl pyrrolidone, NVP and various vinyl esters, VEs, PNVP-b-PVEs, namely vinyl butyrate, VBu, vinyl decanoate, VDc, and vinyl stearate, VSt, was studied in tetrahydrofuran, THF, which is a selective solvent for the PVEs blocks. Static, SLS, and dynamic light scattering, DLS, techniques were employed as the tools to investigate the micellar assemblies and acquire information regarding the degree of association, the hydrodynamic radii and the shape of the aggregates. In addition, CONTIN analysis provided insights concerning the association equilibria in THF solutions. The effect of the nature of the PVE corona forming block on the association process was investigated. Finally, the experimental results were compared with those obtained in previous studies describing the micellization properties of block copolymers of PNVP with polymethacrylates in the same selective solvent.