Phosphonium versus Ammonium Compact Polyelectrolyte Complex Networks with Alginate-Comparing Their Properties and Cargo Encapsulation.

Phosphonium and ammonium polymers can be combined with polyanions to form polyelectrolyte complex (PEC) networks, with potential application in self-healing materials and drug delivery vehicles. While various structures and compositions have been explored, to the best of our knowledge, analogous ammonium and phosphonium networks have not been directly compared to evaluate the effects of phosphorus versus nitrogen cations on the network properties. In this study, we prepared PECs from sodium alginate and poly[triethyl(4-vinylbenzyl)phosphonium chloride], poly[triethyl(4-vinylbenzyl)ammonium chloride], poly[tri(-butyl)(4-vinylbenzyl)phosphonium chloride], poly[tri(-butyl)(4-vinylbenzyl)ammonium chloride], and poly[tris(hydroxypropyl)(4-vinylbenzyl)phosphonium chloride].