Charge Density and Hydrophobicity-Dominated Regimes in the Phase Behavior of Complex Coacervates

The role of hydrophobicity, and particularly of nonionic hydrophobic comonomers, in the phase behavior of polyelectrolyte complex coacervates is not well-understood. Here, we address this problem by synthesizing a library of polymers with a wide range of charge densities and nonionic hydrophobic side chain lengths, and characterizing their phase behavior by optical turbidity. The polymers were prepared by postpolymerization modification of poly(N-acryloxy succinimide), targeting charge densities between 40 and 100% and nonionic aliphatic side chains with lengths from 0 to 12 carbons long. Turbidity measurements on pairs of polycations and polyanions with matched charge densities and nonionic side chain lengths revealed a complex salt response with distinct charge density-dominated and hydrophobicity-dominated regimes. The polymer solubilities were not directly correlated with the phase behavior of the coacervates, indicating the difficulty of understanding the coacervate phase behavior in terms of the polymer-water interaction parameter. This result suggests that there is significant room for further work to understand the mechanisms by which specific molecular-scale interactions moderate the phase behavior of complex coacervates.

Automated summary

The role of hydrophobicity, particularly of nonionic hydrophobic comonomers, in the phase behavior of polyelectrolyte complex coacervates was explored by synthesizing a library of polymers with varying charge densities and nonionic hydrophobic side chain lengths. Turbidity measurements revealed a complex salt response with distinct charge density-dominated and hydrophobicity-dominated regimes, indicating the difficulty of understanding the coacervate phase behavior solely based on polymer-water interactions. This suggests further research is needed to understand how specific molecular-scale interactions moderate the phase behavior of complex coacervates.