Thermoresponsive Phase Transitions of PLA-block-PEO-block-PLA Triblock Stereo-Copolymers in Aqueous Solution

A series of PLA-PEO-PLA triblock stereo-copolymers with varying PLA/PEO and L-DL-LA ratios were synthesized via ring opening pelymerizations. Aqueous solutions of these copolymers undergo thermo-responsive phase transitions as the temperature monotonically increases. Further study shows that there is a critical gel concentration (CGC), and also lower and upper critical gel temperatures (CGTs), at which the thermo-responsive phase transition occurs. The CGC and CGTs are affected by various factors such as block length, as well as the compositions of the PLA blocks and of the additives. In particular, the changes in the phase diagram produced by varying the L-/DL-LA ratio in the PLA blocks were determined to be mainly due to consequent stereo-regularity changes in the PLA blocks.