Block copolymers poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)-block-poly(ethylene oxide), PNIPA-b-PEO,
were synthesized by free radical polymerization using macroazoinitiators bearing PEO chains with two
different chain lengths (M
w = 550 or 1900 g/mol). The molar mass of the PNIPA block varied from 0.4 ×
105 to 7.3 × 105 g/mol. The cloud points of the aqueous copolymer solutions shifted to slightly higher
temperatures only with the samples having the longer PEO block. Above the lower critical solution
temperature (LCST) of PNIPA the block copolymers formed aggregates with a spherical core−shell
structure sterically stabilized by a PEO shell. The formation and especially the shape of the aggregates
were influenced by the length of the PNIPA block, the molar ratio of the repeating units of PNIPA and
PEO, and the polymer concentration. A fluorescent probe 4-(dicyanomethylene)-2-methyl-6-(p-(dimethylamino)styryl)-4H-pyran, 4HP, was localized inside the polymer differently depending on the method of
sample preparation. The microviscosity in the surroundings of the probe increased with the length of the
PNIPA block. However, depending on the sample preparation method, the length of the PEO block was
also observed to have an effect on the polarity of the environment around the probe. In general, increasing
the block length of PEO affected critically the size and shape of the aggregates as well as the mass
distribution within them above the LCST, owing to the enhanced solubilizing effect of PEO on the
collapsing PNIPA and the improved steric stabilization of the aggregates induced by a PEO shell.
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