A dendritic-linear block copolymer as a thermoresponsive non-ionic polymer surfactant

Abstract Issues related to water pollution by a variety of pollutants must be resolved for sustainable development. Over the past decades, several methods have been developed for pollutant removal from aqueous media. In this study, a dendritic-linear block copolymer (Den-PEtOx) was synthesized as a thermoresponsive non-ionic polymer surfactant, and its structure was confirmed by NMR, MALDI-TOF-MS, and SEC measurements. Den-PEtOx formed micelle structures with an average diameter of 121.6 nm and effectively encapsulated Rose Bengal (RB) red dye dissolved in aqueous media. RB-encapsulated Den-PEtOx exhibited a phase transition temperature at 62.4 °C owing to its thermoresponsive poly(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline) segment. Greater than 99% of RB in the aqueous media was successfully removed with Den-PEtOx via filtration above the phase transition temperature.