Thermal transitions of poly(N-isopropylmethacrylamide) in aqueous solutions

Thermal transitions of poly(N-isopropylmethacrylamide) (PIPMAm) in aqueous solutions were studied in a wide temperature range from −100 to 60 °C. The solutions of different polymer weight fractions (c=0.03-1) were investigated in cooling and heating scans of differential scanning calorimetry; four qualitatively different kinds of thermograms were identified in dependence of the fraction, c. The transitions are explained in a thermodynamic framework based on the phase diagram of the system. This diagram provides a complete understanding of thermal transitions in aqueous PIPMAm solutions as a function of c, in particular the existence of non-crystallizable water and the temperature induced phase transition that is due to the hydrophobic interaction in PIPMAm solutions.