Responsive polyzwitterionic materials have become important for a range of applications such as environmental remediation and targeted drug delivery. Much is known about the macroscopic phase-behaviors of such materials. But how the intra-chain correlations of polyzwitterions respond to external stimuli is not well understood. It is important to understand these smaller-scale relationships in order to develop predictive structure-property models for polyzwitterions. Here, we study the temperature dependent dissociation and single-chain structure of a model polyzwitterion using small angle neutron scattering with and without salt. Zimm plot analysis reveals values for the radius of gyration and the second virial osmotic coefficient of single chains. We also apply the Guinier-Porod model to determine the Porod exponent and Kuhn length of the polymer chain. Our findings provide further insight into the single-chain structure and dynamics of polyzwitterions which can be used to guide computational efforts on responsive zwitterionic-based assemblies.

Chain dimensions and associative behavior in sulfobetaine-based polyzwitterions

ACS Spring Meeting 2021

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.