Interpenetrated and Bridged Nanocylinders from Self-Assembled Star Block Copolymers.

ABSTRACT: The design of functional polymeric materials with tunable response requires a synergetic use of macromolecular architecture and interactions. Here, we combine experiments with computer simulations to demonstrate how physical properties of gels can be tailored at the molecular level, using star block copolymers with alternating block sequences as a paradigm. Telechelic star polymers containing attractive outer blocks self-assemble into soft patchy nanoparticles, whereas their mirror-image inverted architecture with inner attractive blocks yields micelles. In concentrated solutions, bridged and interpenetrated hexagonally packed nanocylinders are formed, respectively, with distinct structural and rheological properties. The phase diagrams exhibit a peculiar re-entrance where the hexagonal ph

SUBMITTER: Moghimi E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11190992 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature