The micellization in dilute aqueous solution of Pluronic copolymers P123 (E
21P
67E
21)
and F127 (E
98P
67E
98)
andmixtures of the two was investigated using static
and dynamic light scattering. Gelation of concentrated solutions ofthe two copolymers
and their mixtures was studied using tube inversion
and oscillatory rheometry. The two copolymerscomicellized to give micelles with narrow size distributions. Clouding temperatures
and critical micelle temperaturesdecreased as the proportion of P123 in the mixture was increased. Micelle association numbers of the mixed micelleslay between the values found for micelles of P123
and F127 alone, whereas micelle radii passed through maximumvalues in the range 0-50 wt % P123. As judged by the ratio of the thermodynamic to the hydrodynamic radius, themicelle interaction potential changes gradually from soft to hard as the proportion of P123 in the mixture is increased.Regions of cubic
and hexagonal (birefringent) gel were defined for concentrated solutions. The high-temperatureboundary of the 30 wt % cubic gel decreased monotonically from 90 to 43
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C as the proportion of P123 in the mixturewas increased from 0 to 100 wt %, whereas the low-temperature boundary was essentially constant at 15 ± 3
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C.Increasing the proportion of P123 in the mixture at 25
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C increased the concentration at which the cubic gel was firstformed
and decreased the concentration at which the hexagonal gel was first formed.