Urea-induced demicellization of Pluronic L64 in water

B. Bharatiya*, C. Guo, J. H. Ma, O. Kubota, K. Nakashima, P. Bahadur

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticle (Academic Journal)peer-review

27 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The micellar behavior of a polyethylene oxide block-polypropylene oxide block-polyethylene oxide copolymer Pluronic L64 in aqueous urea solutions (urea concentrations 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 M) by physical methods, viz. cloud point and viscosity, spectral techniques (Fourier transform infrared, fluorescence, and nuclear magnetic resonance), differential scanning calorimetry, and dynamic light scattering is reported. The presence of urea causes an increase in the clouding temperature, critical micellization temperature, and the structural transition (spherical micelles to ellipsoid/rod) temperature; different methods showed good agreement. Urea induces demicellization of L64, enhancing accumulation of water molecules surrounding micelles. L64 micelles show growth at high temperatures, but this micellar transition is suppressed by urea, as proven by calorimetric and viscometric methods. The results are discussed in terms of the molecular mechanism underlying the effects of urea.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)63-71
Number of pages9
JournalColloid and Polymer Science
Volume287
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2009

Keywords

  • Aggregation number
  • Critical micellization temperature (CMT)
  • Demicellization

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Urea-induced demicellization of Pluronic L64 in water'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this