Reentrant Coil-to-Globule-to-Coil Transition of a Single Linear Homopolymer Chain in a Water /Methanol Mixture

Guangzhao Zhang and Chi Wu
Phys. Rev. Lett. 86, 822 – Published 29 January 2001
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Abstract

Both water and methanol are good solvents for poly( N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) at room temperature, but strangely not a mixture of them. Using narrowly distributed linear PNIPAM chains ( Mw=2.6×107g/mol and Mw/Mn<1.1), we have, for the first time, observed a coil-to-globule-to-coil transition of a single PNIPAM chain when methanol was gradually added into water. This novel reentrant transition leads to insight into the complexation between methanol and water. We also found that the chain was crumpled in its globule state and the globule still contained 80% of solvent in its hydrodynamic volume.

  • Received 23 May 2000

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.86.822

©2001 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Guangzhao Zhang and Chi Wu*

  • The Open Laboratory of Bond Selective Chemistry, Department of Chemical Physics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, China and Department of Chemistry, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong, China

  • *To whom correspondence should be addressed at the Hong Kong address.

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Vol. 86, Iss. 5 — 29 January 2001

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