Competition between polyelectrolyte macromolecules and amphiphilic polymer micelles in interaction with copper nanoparticles

Competition between poly(1,2-dimethyl-5-vinylpyridinium methyl sulfate) polycationic macromolecules and micelles of amphiphilic polymers containing hydrophilic and hydrophobic blocks (polyethylene glycol-600 monolaurate and poly-N-vinylpyrrolidone monostearate) for copper nanoparticles was studied by means of electrophoresis and electron microscopy techniques. It was shown that, irrespective of the formation method, almost all copper nanoparticles were bonded to the polycation in polycation-polyethylene glycol-600 monolaurate mixed solutions but were distributed between the polymers in polycation-poly-N-vinylpyrrolidone monostearate mixtures. It was concluded that the stability of the complex of copper nanoparticles with the polycation is higher than that with polyethylene glycol-600 monolaurate and is comparable with that of the copper particle-poly-N-vinylpyrrolidone monostearate complex.