Here, we explore the effect of copolymer chemistry on the phase behavior and viscoelasticity of complex coacervates. To this end, we utilized a library of methacrylate copolymers with varying charge densities and hydrophobicity. Our results show that changing the charge density and hydrophobicity drastically affects the phase behavior─with charge density dictating the salt stability and hydrophobicity controlling the polymer concentration of the coacervates. Small-amplitude oscillatory shear measurements were used to study the viscoelastic response of the coacervates, leveraging knowledge of the coacervate phase behavior in tandem with time-salt superposition to construct a series of time-salt-copolymer master curves that highlight the effects of polymer charge density and hydrophobicity. These combined data show evidence of charge-dominated and hydrophobicity-dominated regimes, allowing for an understanding of how copolymer chemistry can be used to tune the mechanical properties of complex coacervates.

中文翻译：

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解耦电荷密度和疏水性对复杂凝聚层的相行为和粘弹性的影响


在这里，我们探讨了共聚物化学对复杂凝聚层的相行为和粘弹性的影响。为此，我们利用了具有不同电荷密度和疏水性的甲基丙烯酸酯共聚物库。我们的结果表明，改变电荷密度和疏水性会极大地影响相行为——电荷密度决定盐稳定性，疏水性控制凝聚层的聚合物浓度。小振幅振荡剪切测量用于研究凝聚层的粘弹性响应，利用凝聚层相行为的知识与时间-盐叠加相结合，构建一系列时间-盐-共聚物主曲线，突出聚合物电荷的影响密度和疏水性。这些综合数据显示了电荷主导和疏水性主导状态的证据，使人们能够了解如何使用共聚物化学来调节复杂凝聚层的机械性能。