Characterisation of block copolymer self‐assemblies by thermal field‐flow fractionation

Abstract

The ability of block copolymers to self‐assemble into various nanostructures (such as micelles) has attracted significant attention over the years as these block copolymers provide a versatile platform that can readily be modified for a wide range of applications. As such, the solution behaviour of block copolymers has been at the forefront of the modern nanotechnology revolution. However, these novel block copolymer‐based self‐assemblies lack suitable characterisation techniques to determine size, molar mass and compositional distributions simultaneously. This mini‐review gives a short background on the current techniques used to determine important micelle properties as well as their limitations for characterising complex samples. Current column‐based fractionation techniques used for determining property distributions are addressed. As a result of the limitations of column‐based fractionations, a multidetector thermal field‐flow fractionation (ThFFF) approach is put forward as a powerful alternative for determining not only size and molar mass distributions, but also other micelle properties as a function of temperature. More importantly, ThFFF is highlighted as the only current characterisation platform capable of addressing the analytical challenges associated with compositional distributions of polymer self‐assemblies. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry

Impact of Electron Beam Irradiation on Thermoplastic Polyurethanes Unraveled by Thermal Field-Flow Fractionation

“…[25][26][27][28][29] Details on the basic separation principle are given elsewhere 21,30 and in the supporting information (SI, section 1). FFF is usually coupled to a series of detectors (MALS, dRI, UV, online dynamic scattering or offline FTIR), [31][32][33][34][35] though, the analysis of the separation itself contains already useful information. This is because the measurement of the retention ratio R (void time over retention time) at given field strength allows the determination of the physicochemical parameter describing the response to the force field.…”

Stereocomplexation of Polymers in Micelle Nanoreactors As Studied by Multiple Detection Thermal Field-Flow Fractionation

“…Moreover, polymeric self-assemblies range from around 10 3 kg/mol and above in molar mass, which generally is above the separation limit of SEC and makes the technique unsuitable for highly aggregated and larger molar mass species. Accordingly, ThFFF has developed into a robust alternative analytical technique for large and delicate self-assemblies. , …”

“…Accordingly, ThFFF has developed into a robust alternative analytical technique for large and delicate selfassemblies. 34,35 ■ EXPERIMENTAL SECTION Materials. All samples shown in Table 1 were purchased from Polymer Source (Montreal, Canada) and were used as received.…”

Characteristics of electrical field flow fractionation with chronoamperometry and electrochemical impedance

“…There are many subtechniques on FFF research, such as flow FFF (4F), electrical FFF (EFFF), thermal FFF (TFFF), sedimentation FFF (SFFF). The versatility of FFF had been demonstrated with numerous applications [11][12][13][14][15][16][17].…”