Branching analysis of β-cyclodextrin-based poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) star polymers using triple detection SEC

For the first time, poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm) star polymers with a β-cyclodextrin core are characterized in detail by size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) with triple detection to experimentally verify the number of arms. A combination of a refractive index detector, multi-angle laser light scattering detector, and an online-viscosimeter was used for branching analysis. At first, the SEC system was calibrated and the detector setup was validated using linear polystyrene reference polymers. The applicability of the established triple detection SEC for branching analysis was shown by the analysis of two commercially available polystyrene star polymers. Due to the high molar masses of the star polymers, both the contraction ratio g and g′ could be determined independently, thus allowing the calculation of the viscosity shielding ratio ε. Finally, the branching analysis of the PNIPAAm star polymers could experimentally confirm the assumed arm number of up to 21 arms. Moreover, an increasingly compact molecular structure and the influence of the arm number on the viscosity shielding ratio could be shown.