Smith, G.N., Canning, S., Derry, M.J. et al. (3 more authors) (2020) Influence of an ionic comonomer on polymerization-induced self-assembly of diblock copolymers in non-polar media. Polymer Chemistry, 11 (14). pp. 2605-2614. ISSN 1759-9954
Abstract
A series of poly(stearyl methacrylate)–poly(benzyl methacrylate) (PSMA–PBzMA) diblock copolymer nano-objects has been synthesized via reversible addition–fragmentation chain-transfer (RAFT) dispersion polymerization in n-dodecane at 20 wt%. This polymerization-induced self-assembly (PISA) formulation was modified by the incorporation of an anionic monomer, tetradodecylammonium 3-sulfopropyl methacrylate ([NDod4]+[SPMA]−) into the oil-insoluble PBzMA block. According to the literature (M. J. Derry, et al., Chem. Sci., 2016, 7, 5078–5090), PSMA18–PBzMA diblock copolymers only form spheres using this formulation for any core degree of polymerization. Unexpectedly, incorporating just a small fraction (<6 mol%) of [NDod4]+[SPMA]− comonomer into the structure-directing block resulted in the formation of non-spherical diblock copolymer nano-objects, including pure worm-like and vesicular morphologies. However, only spherical micelles could be formed using a longer PSMA34 stabilizer. These diblock copolymer nano-objects were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, small-angle X-ray scattering, and dynamic light scattering. The bulky nature of the ionic comonomer appears to make it possible to avoid the kinetically-trapped sphere morphology. This study reveals a new approach for tuning the morphology of diblock copolymer nano-objects in non-polar media.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
---|---|
Authors/Creators: |
|
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2020 The Authors. This is an author-produced version of a paper subsequently published in Polymer Chemistry. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Dates: |
|
Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Science (Sheffield) > Department of Chemistry (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 19 Mar 2020 15:46 |
Last Modified: | 03 Dec 2021 10:49 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1039/d0py00101e |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:158568 |