Colloid-Chemical and Rheological Properties of Interfacial Adsorption Layers Formed by Water-Soluble and Poorly Soluble Block Copolymers of Ethylene Oxide and Propylene Oxide

The colloid-chemical properties of water-soluble and poorly soluble poly(ethylene oxide) and poly(propylene oxide) block copolymers (pluronics), as well as the rheological properties of interfacial adsorption layers (IALs) formed by them and the polymer generated during polymerization initiation on the particle surface, were studied. The temperature, surfactant concentration, and polymer effects on the effective elastic modulus, determined during the lateral deformation of IALs, were evaluated. The strongest interfacial layers are formed by the poorly water-soluble pluronic, which contains a hydrophilic polyoxyethylene block surrounded by two hydrophobic polyoxypropylene blocks. The high strength of the interfacial adsorption layer on the particle surface affords polymer suspensions with high (up to 33%) polymer contents and narrow particle size distributions.