Journal of Physical Chemistry B, Vol.110, No.1, 465-477, 2006
Self-consistent-field analysis of the micellization of carboxy-modified poly(ethylene oxide)-poly(propylene oxide)-poly(ethylene oxide) triblock copolymers
The micellization properties of carboxy-modified Pluronics P85 (poly(ethylene oxide)-poly(propylene oxide)-poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO-PPO-PEO) triblock copolymers) are investigated by means of a molecularly realistic self-consistent-field theory. We consider the, so-called, carboxylic acid end-standing P85 (CAE-85) case where the carboxylic group is located at the end of both PEO parts and the carboxylic acid centerstanding P85 (CAC-85) case where each of the carboxylic group presents between the PEO and PPO blocks. The micellization of these copolymers depends on the pH, the added electrolyte concentration phi(s), and the temperature. It is shown that the aggregation number (N-agg) decreases, whereas the critical micellization concentration (CMC) increases with pH. For the case of increasing phi(s), the Nagg increases and the CMC decreases. The critical micellization temperature (CMT) and cloud point temperature (CPT) increase with pH at low phi(s) and decrease at increasing phi(s). The changing from CAE-85 to CAC-85 leads to increasing CMC and CMT, but lower CPT.