DIFFUSION-PROCESSES OF INTERACTING BROWNIAN PARTICLES IN BLOCKCOPOLYMER-MICROEMULSION TRANSIENT NETWORKS

Quasielastic light-scattering and pulsed field gradient NMR were used to investigate the effects of a triblock copolymer and a alpha-omega telechelic ionomer on the interaction potential and transient network formation of nanodroplets in w/o microemulsions. The NMR self diffusion measurements yield a crossover from restricted polymer diffusion to free self diffusion. The relation between the copolymer self diffusion and the dynamic properties of the transient network are explained in the framework of reversibly cross linked polymer chains. Quasielastic light-scattering, only sensitive to the correlations between the waterdroplets, yields three diffusive processes, which are due to fast collective diffusion and slowly decaying correlations, controlled by the specific interactions of the hydrophilic and hydrophobic blocks with the water and oil phases.