Micellization and Micellar Structure of a Poly(ethylene oxide)/Poly(propylene oxide)/Poly(ethylene oxide) Triblock Copolymer in Water Solution, As Studied by the Spin Probe Technique

The micellization of the triblock copolymer Pluronic P85 (poly(oxyethylene)27/poly(oxypropylene)39/poly(oxyethylene)27) in aqueous solution was followed vs temperature and addition of aliphatic alcohols, using the spin probe technique. Different types of probes properly chosen (spin-labeled (SL) poly(oxyethylene(4))nonylphenol, SL-Pluronic L62, TEMPO-laurate, TEMPO-hexanoate, CAT 4, CAT 8, CAT 11, CAT 16, and 5-, 7-, 10-, and 12-doxylstearic acids) provided information about the micellar structure (polarity, viscosity, and order degree) at different radial locations. Micellization was found to be low at room temperature, even for 10% aqueous solutions, but strongly increasing with temperatu…