查看文章

Poly(N-vinylcaprolactam) (PVCL) is a new temperature-responsive type of polymer microgel with improved biocompatibility as compared to more commonly used poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM). Both polymers swell at low temperatures and collapse at high ones, showing a volume phase transition temperature (VPTT) around the physiological temperature. Exploring the interfacial characteristics of thermoresponsive microgels is important due to their potential application in emulsion based systems with tailored stabilities and controlled degradation profiles. In this work, we study the properties of charged PVCL particles at the air–water interface by a combination of adsorption, dilatational rheology and Langmuir monolayers. Although PVCL particles adsorb spontaneously at the air–water interface in both, swollen and collapsed conformations, the interfacial properties show significant differences depending …