Chinese Chemical Letters | 2019
Self-assembly of homopolymer of PAA-NH4
Abstract
Abstract Self-assembly of homo-polymers has rarely been reported. Herein, PAA-NH4 assemblies varying from nanospheres to large particles and yolk-shell vesicles were obtained by adding different amount of HCl solution into the dispersion of PAA-NH4 in ethanol. The changes of zeta potentials, pH value and microstructure of the PAA-NH4 assemblies were characterized, and the influences of molecular weight and different alcohols on the assembly morphologies were studied. A possible assembly mechanism based on the solubility and electrostatic interaction was proposed. Our study offered an interesting example of homo-polymer assembly and may extend the practical application due to the simple polymers used.