Abstract
Here photo- and pH-responsive behavior of polymer micelles formed by synthesized azo-modified poly (monomethyl itaconate)s (PMMI-Azo) with appropriate amounts of azobenzene side groups (DSAzo) were reported. The PMMI-Azo polymer with DSazo = 20 was used for the preparation of micelles using dialysis method. Self-assembly behavior of the PMMI-Azo was studied by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), fluorescence spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering (DLS) and UV–Vis spectrophotometry techniques. It was found that the PMMI-Azo polymers self-assembled into spherical micelles with core-shell structures. TEM images and DLS analysis of the PMMI-Azo-20 micelles showed regular spherical micelles which increased in size and polydispersity index after UV irradiation, caused by isomerization. It was also found that with increasing the polymer concentration, the fluorescence intensity decreased obviously which could be attributed to the interactions between the closely located pyrene and azobenzene in the micelles core. Experimental results suggested that the micellization-enhanced fluorescence was caused by a slowdown in the rate of the trans-to-cis photoisomerization. Furthermore, it was found that the fluorescence intensity of the aqueous micellar solutions was sensitive to stimulus such as pH change and UV light irradiation, as a result of alteration in aqueous micellar association. The results clearly indicated the role of UV irradiation and pH in the state of the polymer micellar association which is responsible for fluorescence intensity.
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the Vice Chancellor of Research of Azarbaijan Shahid Madani University for financially supporting this research. The authors’ warm thanks are also extended to Mr. Hossein Masaledan for his useful help.
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Hosseini, A.G., Bagheri, M. & Mohammad-Rezaei, R. Synthesis and fluorescence studies of dual-responsive nanoparticles based on amphiphilic azobenzene-contained poly (monomethyl itaconate). J Polym Res 23, 161 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10965-016-1061-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10965-016-1061-y