Figure 11.

Schematic illustration of phase separation induced cooperativity in pH-triggered supramolecular self-assembly. (a) Hydrophilic polymers with ionizable amines were protonated homogeneously, showing no cooperativity. (b) Hydrophobic phase separation (e.g., micellization) drove cooperative protonation of amphiphilic pH-responsive polymers. Phase separation also drove the pKa values of polymers to lower pH because of hydrophobic barrier, which required higher proton concentration (lower pH) to initiate the protonation process. Reproduced with permission from Yang Li, Tian Zhao, Chensu Wang, Zhiqiang Lin, Gang Huang, Baran D. Sumer, and Jinming Gao. Nature Communications; published by Nature Publishing Group, 2016.