Journal of Physical Chemistry B, Vol.102, No.1, 40-43, 1998
Unusual solubilization behavior of a maleic acid hexyl vinyl ether copolymer
An intriguing previous observation concerning some unusual solubilization effects in a polysoap system was explored further. The polysoap system consisted of a maleic acid-hexyl vinyl ether copolymer in an aqueous LiCl solution. The extent of micellization of the polysoap is known to decrease with increasing pH due to repulsion between ionized acidic groups on the polymer backbone. Accordingly, the solubilization of pyrene and several other water-insoluble organic compounds diminished with rising pH; moreover, the pH dependence of the solubilization was essentially identical for these compounds. However, surprisingly, the solubilization of benzophenone remained constant with changing pH. For the present investigation, we employed additional solubilizates, expanded the pH range, and added a tetramethylammonium chloride supporting electrolyte system. Nevertheless, only the same two types of behavior were observed in the LiCl system. One group of solubilizates comprised eight compounds, all of which behaved like pyrene in that their solubilization changed with pH in an essentially identical manner, thereby furnishing a novel method for estimating the extent of micellization of the polysoap. The other group, containing benzophenone and three other solubilizates, exhibited constant solubilization with changing pH, indicating that, for this group, a mechanism besides the micellar one must contribute to the solubilization. In the tetramethylammonium chloride system? however, results were quite different. The "pyrene group" compounds no longer shared a common pH dependence, while the "benzophenone group" compounds still exhibited a common behavior, but showed a maximum with increasing pH. This newly observed behavior is ascribed to the possible cosolubilization of the tetramethylammonium ion in the interior of the polysoap molecules.