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Controlled Formation of Polymer Nanocapsules with High Diffusion‐Barrier Properties and Prediction of Encapsulation Efficiency
Author(s) -
Hofmeister Ines,
Landfester Katharina,
Taden Andreas
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
angewandte chemie international edition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.831
H-Index - 550
eISSN - 1521-3773
pISSN - 1433-7851
DOI - 10.1002/anie.201408393
Subject(s) - encapsulation (networking) , nanocapsules , polymer , materials science , copolymer , chemical engineering , solubility , nanotechnology , chemistry , composite material , nanoparticle , organic chemistry , computer network , computer science , engineering
Polymer nanocapsules with high diffusion‐barrier performance were designed following simple thermodynamic considerations. Hindered diffusion of the enclosed material leads to high encapsulation efficiencies (EEs), which was demonstrated based on the encapsulation of highly volatile compounds of different chemical natures. Low interactions between core and shell materials are key factors to achieve phase separation and a high diffusion barrier of the resulting polymeric shell. These interactions can be characterized and quantified using the Hansen solubility parameters. A systematic study of our copolymer system revealed a linear relationship between the Hansen parameter for hydrogen bonding ( δ h ) and encapsulation efficiencies which enables the prediction of encapsulated amounts for any material. Furthermore EEs of poorly encapsulated materials can be increased by mixing them with a mediator compound to give lower overall δ h values.