TY  - JOUR
AU  - Scotti, A.
AU  - Bochenek, S.
AU  - Brugnoni, M.
AU  - Fernandez-Rodriguez, M. A.
AU  - Schulte, M. F.
AU  - Houston, J. E.
AU  - Gelissen, A. P. H.
AU  - Potemkin, I. I.
AU  - Isa, L.
AU  - Richtering, W.
TI  - Exploring the colloid-to-polymer transition for ultra-low crosslinked microgels from three to two dimensions
JO  - Nature Communications
VL  - 10
IS  - 1
SN  - 2041-1723
CY  - [London]
PB  - Nature Publishing Group UK
M1  - FZJ-2019-02318
SP  - 1418
PY  - 2019
AB  - Microgels are solvent-swollen nano- and microparticles that show prevalent colloidal-like behavior despite their polymeric nature. Here we study ultra-low crosslinked poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) microgels (ULC), which can behave like colloids or flexible polymers depending on dimensionality, compression or other external stimuli. Small-angle neutron scattering shows that the structure of the ULC microgels in bulk aqueous solution is characterized by a density profile that decays smoothly from the center to a fuzzy surface. Their phase behavior and rheological properties are those of soft colloids. However, when these microgels are confined at an oil-water interface, their behavior resembles that of flexible macromolecules. Once monolayers of ultra-low crosslinked microgels are compressed, deposited on solid substrate and studied with atomic-force microscopy, a concentration-dependent topography is observed. Depending on the compression, these microgels can behave as flexible polymers, covering the substrate with a uniform film, or as colloidal microgels leading to a monolayer of particles.
LB  - PUB:(DE-HGF)16
C6  - pmid:30926786
UR  - <Go to ISI:>//WOS:000462721900017
DO  - DOI:10.1038/s41467-019-09227-5
UR  - https://juser.fz-juelich.de/record/861897
ER  -