Self‐assembly of Sulfonated Polystyrene Ionomers in Chloroform

AbstractLight scattering and electric birefringence were used to determine the dimensions and extent of aggregation of dilute solutions of sodium sulfonated polystyrene ionomers with sulfonation levels of 0.5, 1.35, 2.6 and 5.8 mol% in chloroform. It was found that in solutions of ionomers with sulfonation level 1.35 and more the equilibrium between single chains and aggregates consisting of two and more chains is observed. These data were analyzed using the “open” association model. It was shown that an increase in the sulfonation level of ionomers results in a decrease in the hydrodynamic radius of single chain. On the other hand, it was established that an increase in sulfonation level leads to increase in the size of aggregate consisting of two chains. More pronounced expansion of ionomer chains incorporated into aggregate was found for ionomers with high sulfonation level.