Characterization of partially hydrolyzed poly(vinyl alcohol). Effect of poly(vinyl alcohol) molecular architecture on aqueous phase conformation

Temperature-dependent H-1 NMR and dilute solution viscometry coupled with dynamic light scattering techniques were used to elucidate the aqueous phase conformation of several poly(vinyl alcohol)s (PVAs) differing in their molecular architecture (i.e., degree of blockiness, molecular weight, and degree of hydrolysis). The aqueous phase conformation of semidilute poly(vinyl alcohol) solutions possessing different residual acetate sequence distributions (degree of blockiness) and molecular weights were studied as a function of polymer concentration. Increases in the intrinsic viscosity, [eta], and hydrodynamic radius, R-h, were observed as a function of increasing degree of blockiness and molecular weight of the PVAs, with a corresponding decrease in the cluster density, rho(agg), which gave further support to the proposed aqueous phase conformations of the PVAs. The partially hydrolyzed PVAs can adopt different conformations in aqueous solution, depending on the molecular weight and degree of blockiness.