The formation of higher structure through hydrophobic interaction of interpolymer complexes

Polyion complexes have been thought to be formed at the moment when the solutions of each component polymer are mixed. However, by observing many cases of complexation, it was cleared up that the complexes existed in their non‐equilibrium states for a long time under certain conditions and that the external factors, such as time, heat and shear‐stress, made the complexes grow up to be particularly structured complexes. The fibrous and network‐structured complexes were obtained by combination of the solution of poly(methacrylic acid) and the solution of poly(N,N,N′,N′‐tetramethyl‐N‐p‐xylylene‐N′‐alkylene diammonium dichloride) poly[(dimethylimino)ethylene(dimethylimino)methylene‐1,4‐phenylenemethylene dichloride]. The formation of higher structures is explained as follows: the hydrophobicity of their relatively extended polymer chains is changed by the neutralization of each ionic site of the polymers, and then these complexes grow regularly along the directions of their main chains by their own hydrophobicity and after a certain stage they expand to network structures by loosing their aggregating directions.