Boosting Effect of Amphiphilic Random Copolymers for Bicontinuous Phases.

Amphiphilic random copolymers, poly(oxyethylene)/poly(oxypropylene) butyl ethers (C4EmPn), have been used as raw materials for cosmetics. This paper reports on the influence of amphiphilic random copolymers on mixtures of n-decane, water, and a nonionic surfactant, hexa(oxyethylene) dodecyl ether (C12E6). Bicontinuous phases are formed from decane/water/C12E6 mixtures at high C12E6 weight fractions (> 70 wt%).

The deformation of hydrogel microspheres at the air/water interface.

The deformation of soft hydrogel microspheres (microgels) adsorbed at the air/water interface was investigated for the first time using large poly(N-isopropyl acrylamide)-based microgels synthesized by a modified aqueous precipitation polymerization method. The deformation of the micron-sized soft microspheres could be visualized clearly and analyzed quantitatively at the air/water interface.

A simple feature of yielding behavior of highly dense suspensions of soft micro-hydrogel particles.

The highly dense suspensions of soft micro-hydrogels with a narrow size distribution (typically ϕeff > 0.9 where ϕeff is the apparent volume fraction of the particle), which form a regular lattice structure, exhibit a simple feature in the yielding behavior: the yield strain γc [ca. 2.

Multilayered composite microgels synthesized by surfactant-free seeded polymerization.

We report on a simple and rapid method to produce multilayered composite microgels. Thermosensitive microgels were synthesized by aqueous free radical precipitation polymerization using N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAm) as a monomer. Using the microgels as cores, surfactant-free seeded polymerization of an oil-soluble monomer, glycidyl methacrylate (GMA), was carried out at 70 °C, where the microgels were highly deswollen in water.