Quantitative SAXS Analysis of the P123/Water/Ethanol Ternary Phase Diagram

The ternary phase diagram of the amphiphilic triblock copolymer PEO−PPO−PEO ((EO)₂₀(PO)₇₀(EO)₂₀ commercialized under the generic name P123), water, and ethanol has been investigated at constant temperature (T = 23 °C) by small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). The microstructure resulting from the self-assembly of the PEO−PPO−PEO block copolymer varies from micelles in solution to various types of liquid crystalline phases such as cubic, 3D hexagonal close packed spheres (HCPS), 2D hexagonal, and lamellar when the concentration of the polymer is increased. In the isotropic liquid phase, the micellar structural parameters are obtained as a function of the water−ethanol ratio and block copolymer concentration by fitting the scattering data to a model involving core−shell form factor and a hard sphere structure factor of interaction. The micellar core, the aggregation number, and the hard sphere interaction radius decrease when increasing the ethanol/water ratio in the mixed solvent. We show that the fraction of ethanol present in the core is responsible for the swelling of the PPO blocks. In the different liquid crystalline phases, structural parameters such as lattice spacing, interfacial area of PEO block, and aggregation number are also evaluated. In addition to classical phases such as lamellar, 2D hexagonal, and liquid isotropic phases, we have observed a two-phase region in which cubic Fm3m and P6₃mmc (hexagonally close packing of spheres (HCPS)) phases coexist. This appears at 30% (w/w) of P123 in pure water and with 5% (w/w) of ethanol. At 10% (w/w) ethanol, only the HCPS phase remains present.