Yes / We report the crystallization-driven self-assembly of diblock copolymers bearing a poly(L-lactide) block into cylindrical micelles. Three different hydrophilic corona-forming blocks have been employed: poly(4-acryloyl morpholine) (P4AM), poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) and poly(N,N-dimethylacrylamide) (PDMA). Optimization of the experimental conditions to improve the dispersities of the resultant cylinders through variation of the solvent ratio, the polymer concentration, and the addition speed of the selective solvent is reported. The last parameter has been shown to play a crucial role in the homogeneity of the initial solution, which leads to a pure cylindrical phase with a narrow distribution of length. The hydrophilic characters of the polymers have been shown to direct the length of the resultant cylinders, with the most hydrophilic corona block leading to the shortest cylinders. / EPSRC and the University of Warwick, the Swiss National Science Foundation - Early Postdoc Mobility fellowship (Grant no PBNEP2-142949 to A.P.B.). The Warwick Research Development Fund. Some items of equipment funded by Birmingham Science City: Innovative Uses for Advanced Materials in the Modern World (West Midlands Centre for Advanced Materials Project 2), with support from Advantage West Midlands (AWM) and part funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BRADFORD/oai:bradscholars.brad.ac.uk:10454/14153 |
| Date | 29 November 2013 |
| Creators | Pitto-Barry, Anaïs, Kirby, N., Dove, A.P., O'Reilly, R.K. |
| Source Sets | Bradford Scholars |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Article, Published version |
| Rights | © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2014. Open Access Article. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. |
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