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Block copolymer micelle formation in a solvent good for all the blocks

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Abstract

To produce desired aggregate structures of copolymers, the copolymer is usually first dissolved in a common solvent that dissolves all the blocks. However, a solvent having the exact same solubility to all the blocks of a copolymer is rare. Hence, it is extremely important to know whether the block copolymer forms micelle in a common solvent, and if it does, to know the micelle’s structure. In this study, we used polystyrene-b-poly(4-vinylpyridine) (PS-b-P4VP) dissolved in dimethyl formamide (DMF) as a model system to address block copolymer micelle formation and its structure in a solvent good for all the blocks as DMF dissolves both PS and P4VP. Our atomic force microscopy (AFM) and cryogenic-transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM) results clearly demonstrated that PS-b-P4VP with a wide range of molecular weight and P4VP composition in DMF forms a spherical micelle. Furthermore, contact angle measurements and TEM results clearly show that the micelle has a PS core and a P4VP corona. In comparing the dry micelle and the micelle in DMF, we discovered that the micelle core is significantly swelled by DMF. Our findings suggest that soft-core micelles widely exist for block copolymers in solvents good for all the blocks but with significant selectivity between different blocks.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge the National Science Foundation (EPS-1004083) as well as the Sustainable Energy Education and Research Center (SEERC) at The University of Tennessee–Knoxville for supporting this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Materials Research and Innovation Laboratory (MRAIL), Sustainable Energy Education and Research Center (SEERC), Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, 37996, USA

    Xianggui Ye, Hanieh Niroomand, Sheng Hu & Bamin Khomami

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  1. Xianggui Ye
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  2. Hanieh Niroomand
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  3. Sheng Hu
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  4. Bamin Khomami
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Correspondence to Bamin Khomami.

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Ye, X., Niroomand, H., Hu, S. et al. Block copolymer micelle formation in a solvent good for all the blocks. Colloid Polym Sci 293, 2799–2805 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00396-015-3658-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00396-015-3658-9

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