Multi-responsive polymer nanoparticles from the amphiphilic poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS)-containing poly(ether amine) (PDMS-gPEA) and its potential application for smart separation

We report here a novel amphiphilic PDMS-containing poly(ether amine) (PDMS-gPEA) synthesized through one-pot condensation polymerization of commercial di-epoxy and amine monomers. The obtained PDMS-gPEA could be dispersed directly in aqueous solution to form stable uniform-sized nanoparticles with a diameter of about 16 nm, whose aggregation is responsive to temperature, pH and ionic strength with tunable cloud point (CP). The whole process for the responsive aggregation of PDMS-gPEA nanoparticles was revealed by transmission electron microscope (TEM) and dynamic light scattering (DLS), and was intensively studied by UV-vis spectra. The responsive nanoparticles of PDMS-gPEA possessed the unique selective encapsulation of water-soluble dye, which provides potential applications in smart separations.