Light scattering studies of stereocomplex formation of stereoregular poly(methyl methacrylate) in solutions

The structure and stereocomplex formation of multi-stereolblock poly(methyl methacrylates) in three different solvents, acetone, tetrahydrofaran (THF) and chloroform, corresponding to strongly-, weakly- and non-complexing solvent, respectively, were investigated by a combination of static and dynamic laser light scattering. Our results revealed that the stereocomplex was caused by weak interactions, and could be melted at higher temperatures. In THF, the intermolecular and intramolecular interactions could be clearly separated at lower temperatures, and the structure of aggregated chains was linear. In acetone, a more compact structure was obtained, which was corroborated by the fact that the stereocomplex had a higher melting temperature than in THF. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.