Fluorescence Anisotropy Analysis Of Comb-Type Grafted Poly(N,N-Diethylacrylamide-Co-Acrylic Acid)-G-Poly(N,N-Diethylacrylamide) Microgels Labeled By Acenaphthylene

Two kinds of thermosensitive and pH sensitive comb-type grafted poly(N,N-diethylacrylamide-co-acrylicacid)-g-poly(N,N-diethylacrylamide) [P(DEA-co-AA)-g-PDEA] microgels labeled by acenaphthylene (ACE) were prepared in water/methanol mixed solvent. Both of them were prepared through surfactant-free emulsion polymerization: one was labeled in the main chain of the gel networks (B-ACE) and the other was labeled in the grafted chains of the gel networks (G-ACE). Steady state fluorescence anisotropy was used to study the mobility of the chains in different buffers at their lower critical solution temperature. It was found that the grafted chains moved more freely than the main chain, and the pH dependence of the mobility of the grafted chain was more pronounced. With the results obtained in the present study, we can better understand why the microgels with grafted chains have faster response rates than the ones of normal types. (c) 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018, 135, 46742.