Time-resolved and Temperature-dependent SAXS Studies During the Synthesis of Thermoresponsive Diblock Copolymer Nanoparticles

We have recently developed a new class of thermoresponsive amphiphilic diblock copolymers that can switch reversibly between four copolymer morphologies in aqueous solution. This enables the viscoelastic properties of the material to be controlled within a narrow temperature range that is relevant for potential biomedical applications. We now wish to conduct a series of time-resolved SAXS studies during the synthesis of such thermoresponsive diblock copolymer nanoparticles via RAFT aqueous dispersion polymerisation. We also wish to use SAXS/USAXS to characterise the evolution in copolymer morphology from spheres to worms to vesicles to lamellae between 5°C and 30°C. A machine-learning algorithm will be implemented to analyse these SAXS patterns and hence quantify the composition of intermediate mixed phases (e.g. spheres + worms, or worms + vesicles, or vesicles + lamellae).