Effect of temperature on aggregation/dissociation behavior of interpolymer complexes stabilized by hydrogen bonds

The effect of temperature on the aggregation/dissociation behavior of interpolymer complexes based on poly(acrylic acid) and various nonionic polymers-poly(vinyl pyrrolidone), poly(ethylene oxide), poly(acrylamide), hydroxypropylcellulose, hydroxyethylcellulose, poly(vinyl methyl ether), poly(vinyl ether of ethyleneglycol), and vinyl ether of ethyleneglycol-co-vinyl butyl ether-has been studied in aqueous solutions. It was shown that nonionic polymers could be classified into two groups according to the stability of their polycomplexes with respect to temperature. The first group of nonionic polymers forms interpolymer complexes, which are stable and undergo further aggregation upon increase in temperature. The second group forms polycomplexes, which dissociate at higher temperatures. The nature of forces stabilizing different interpolymer complexes in aqueous solutions is discussed. (C) 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.