Solution behavior of two commercially used polyether glycols with poly(oxyethylene) (PEO)-poly(oxypropylene) (PPO)-poly(oxyethylene) (PEO) triblock composition—Diol (linear) and Triol (star-like)—was studied, concerning the concentration and temperature effects until the cloud point (CP). 2-(2-butoxyetoxy) ethanol (DB) increased their miscibility with water. The structural study was performed with 25% DB in water, which produced isotropic solutions at room temperature at all polymer concentrations. Micelle's formation was only observed above 40% of polymer, when reversed micelles were formed. The solvent nuclei of the reversed micelles increased with increasing polymer concentrations, caused by dehydration of the PPO chains, then decreased at further higher concentrations, with completely dehydrated hydrophobic chains. When CP is reached, the solvent nuclei are separated by large polymer domains, without phase separation. Neither ordered nor gel phase was formed, probably due to a combination of high miscibility and short hydrophobic segments. The study was performed by Small-Angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and complemented by Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and dynamic light scattering (DLS). The main contribution of this work is based on the fact that the knowledge of the solubility behavior of Diol and Triol, by changing the solvent or temperature, opens up new possibilities of their use to phase separation processes in industrial applications and delivery systems. Moreover, the elucidation of mechanisms of solubility allows for the design of novel polyether glycols with tailored solution behavior for efficient performance in its target use. All applications rely on their solution behavior and can be benefited from the present results.

中文翻译：

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二醇和三醇聚（氧丙烯）-聚（氧乙烯）嵌段共聚物胶束的结构研究：组成依赖性、温度响应和混浊行为

研究了两种商业使用的聚醚二醇与聚（氧乙烯）（PEO）-聚（氧丙烯）（PPO）-聚（氧乙烯）（PEO）三嵌段组合物——二醇（线性）和三醇（星形）——的溶液行为，关于浓度和温度影响直至浊点 (CP)。2-（2-丁氧基乙氧基）乙醇（DB）增加了它们与水的混溶性。结构研究是用 25% DB 的水溶液进行的，它在室温下在所有聚合物浓度下产生各向同性溶液。当形成反胶束时，仅在超过 40% 的聚合物时观察到胶束的形成。反胶束的溶剂核随着聚合物浓度的增加而增加，这是由 PPO 链的脱水引起的，然后在更高的浓度下减少，疏水链完全脱水。当达到 CP 时，溶剂核被大的聚合物域隔开，没有相分离。既没有形成有序相也没有形成凝胶相，这可能是由于高混溶性和短疏水链段的组合。该研究通过小角 X 射线散射 (SAXS) 进行，并辅以傅里叶变换红外光谱 (FTIR) 和动态光散射 (DLS)。这项工作的主要贡献是基于这样一个事实，即通过改变溶剂或温度，对二醇和三醇的溶解行为的了解为它们在工业应用和输送系统中的相分离过程中的使用开辟了新的可能性。此外，溶解机制的阐明允许设计具有定制溶液行为的新型聚醚二醇，以实现其目标用途的高效性能。