Lowest gelation concentration in a complex-coacervate-driven self-assembly system, achieved by redox-RAFT synthesis of high molecular weight block polyelectrolytes.

The objective of this work was to synthesize high molecular weight polyelectrolyte complex (PEC) micelles that are effective in controlling the rheology of aqueous solutions at low concentrations, paving the way for industrial applications of thickeners based on the principle of electrostatic self-assembly. Redox-initiated RAFT (reversible addition-fragmentation chain-transfer) polymerization was used to obtain anionic block polyelectrolytes based on poly(sodium 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulfonate) and poly(acrylamide)-poly(AMPS)--poly(AM) (di-block) and poly(AMPS)--poly(AM)--poly(AMPS) (tri-block), with molecular weights of 237 kDa and 289 kDa and polydispersities of 1.29 and 1.