Efficiency Boosting of Surfactants with Poly(ethylene oxide)-Poly(alkyl glycidyl ether)s: A New Class of Amphiphilic Polymers.

Twenty years ago, it was found that adding small amounts of amphiphilic block copolymers like poly(ethylene propylene)--poly(ethylene oxide) (PEP--PEO) to microemulsion systems strongly increases the efficiency of medium-chain surfactants to solubilize water and oil. Although being predestined to serve as a milestone in microemulsion research, the effect has only scarcely found its way into applications. In this work, we propose new types of efficiency boosters, namely, poly(ethylene oxide)-poly(alkyl glycidyl ether carbonate)s (PEO--PAlkGE) and their "carbonated" poly(ethylene oxide)-poly(carbonate alkyl glycidyl ether) analogs.