Structure of diblock copolymers in supercritical carbon dioxide and critical micellization pressure

1999

This paper reports a small angle neutron scattering investigation of micelle formation by fluorocarbon-hydrocarbon block copolymers in supercritical ${\mathrm{CO}}_{2}{(\mathrm{s}\mathrm{c}\ensuremath{-}\mathrm{C}\mathrm{O}}_{2})$ at 65 \ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}C. A sharp unimer-micelle transition is obtained due to the tuning of the solvating ability of ${\mathrm{s}\mathrm{c}\ensuremath{-}\mathrm{C}\mathrm{O}}_{2}$ by profiling pressure, so that the block copolymer, in a semidilute solution, finds ${\mathrm{s}\mathrm{c}\ensuremath{-}\mathrm{C}\mathrm{O}}_{2}$ a good solvent at high pressure and a poor solvent at low pressure. At high pressure the copolymer is in a monomeric state…