Editing Copolymer (section)

== Applications ==

=== Block copolymers ===
A common application of block copolymers is to develop [[thermoplastic elastomer]]s (TPEs).<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last1=Hadjichristidis |first1=Nikos |url=http://doi.wiley.com/10.1002/0471269808 |title=Block Copolymers |last2=Pispas |first2=Stergios |last3=Floudas |first3=George |date=2002-11-15 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons, Inc. |isbn=978-0-471-39436-5 |location=Hoboken, USA |language=en |doi=10.1002/0471269808}}</ref> Early commercial TPEs were developed from [[Polyurethane|polyurethranes]] (TPUs), consisting of alternating soft segments and hard segments, and are used in automotive bumpers and snowmobile treads.<ref name=":0" /> Styrenic TPEs entered the market later, and are used in footwear, bitumen modification, thermoplastic blending, adhesives, and cable insulation and gaskets.<ref name=":0" /> Modifying the linkages between the blocks resulted in newer TPEs based on [[polyester]]s (TPES) and [[polyamide]]s (TPAs), used in hose tubing, sport goods, and automotive components.<ref name=":0" />

[[Amphiphile|Amphiphilic]] block copolymers have the ability to form [[micelle]]s and [[nanoparticle]]s.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last1=Cho |first1=Heui Kyoung |last2=Cheong |first2=In Woo |last3=Lee |first3=Jung Min |last4=Kim |first4=Jung Hyun |date=2010 |title=Polymeric nanoparticles, micelles and polymersomes from amphiphilic block copolymer |url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11814-010-0216-5 |journal=Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering |language=en |volume=27 |issue=3 |pages=731–740 |doi=10.1007/s11814-010-0216-5 |s2cid=95286455 |issn=0256-1115}}</ref> Due to this property, amphiphilic block copolymers have garnered much attention in research on vehicles for drug delivery.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Rösler |first1=Annette |last2=Vandermeulen |first2=Guido W. M. |last3=Klok |first3=Harm-Anton |date=2012-12-01 |title=Advanced drug delivery devices via self-assembly of amphiphilic block copolymers |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169409X12002864 |journal=Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews |series=MOST CITED PAPERS IN THE HISTORY OF ADVANCED DRUG DELIVERY REVIEWS: A TRIBUTE TO THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE JOURNAL |language=en |volume=64 |pages=270–279 |doi=10.1016/j.addr.2012.09.026 |issn=0169-409X}}</ref> Similarly, amphiphilic block copolymers can be used for the removal of organic contaminants from water either through micelle formation<ref name=":0" /> or film preparation.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last1=Herrera-Morales |first1=Jairo |last2=Turley |first2=Taylor A. |last3=Betancourt-Ponce |first3=Miguel |last4=Nicolau |first4=Eduardo |date=2019 |title=Nanocellulose-Block Copolymer Films for the Removal of Emerging Organic Contaminants from Aqueous Solutions |journal=Materials |language=en |volume=12 |issue=2 |pages=230 |doi=10.3390/ma12020230 |issn=1996-1944 |pmc=6357086 |pmid=30641894|bibcode=2019Mate...12..230H |doi-access=free }}</ref>

=== Alternating copolymers ===
The styrene-maleic acid (SMA) alternating copolymer displays amphiphilicity depending on pH, allowing it to change conformations in different environments.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last1=Huang |first1=Jing |last2=Turner |first2=S. Richard |date=2017-05-05 |title=Recent advances in alternating copolymers: The synthesis, modification, and applications of precision polymers |journal=Polymer |language=en |volume=116 |pages=572–586 |doi=10.1016/j.polymer.2017.01.020 |issn=0032-3861|doi-access=free }}</ref> Some conformations that SMA can take are random coil formation, compact globular formation, micelles, and nanodiscs.<ref name=":3" /> SMA has been used as a [[dispersing agent]] for dyes and inks, as drug delivery vehicles, and for membrane solubilization.<ref name=":3" />

=== Copolymer engineering ===
Copolymerization is used to modify the properties of manufactured plastics to meet specific needs, for example to reduce crystallinity, modify [[glass transition temperature]], control wetting properties  or to improve solubility.<ref>{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1002/ppap.201700053| title = Tunable wettability and pH-responsiveness of plasma copolymers of acrylic acid and octafluorocyclobutane| journal = Plasma Processes and Polymers| volume = 14| issue = 10| pages = 1700053| year = 2017| last1 = Muzammil| first1 = Iqbal| last2 = Li| first2 = Yupeng| last3 = Lei| first3 = Mingkai| s2cid = 104161308}}</ref> It is a way of improving mechanical properties, in a technique known as [[rubber toughening]]. Elastomeric phases within a rigid matrix act as crack arrestors, and so increase the energy absorption when the material is impacted for example. [[Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene]] is a common example.