Self-assembling block copolymers

Bates F.S. and Fredrickson G.H., Block copolymers-designer soft materials, Phys. Today, 52, 32, 1999. Alexandridis P. and Lindman B. (eds.). Amphiphilic Block Copolymers Self-Assembly and Applications, Elsevier, Amsterdam, 2000. 

Jeoung E., Galow T.H., Schotter J., Bal M., Ursache A., Tuominen M.T., Stafford C.M., Russell T.P., and Rotello V.M. Fabrication and characterization of naoelectrode arrays formes via block copolymers self-assembly, Langmuir, 17, 6396, 2001. 

Alexandridis P, Lindman B (eds) (2000) Amphiphilic block copolymers self assembly and applications. Elsevier, Amsterdam... 

Booth, C, Yu, G.-E. and Nace, V. M. (1997). Block copolymers of ethylene oxide and 1,2-butylene oxide. In Amphiphilic block copolymers self-assembly and applications, (ed. P. Alexandridis and B. Lindman). Elsevier, Amsterdam. 

Nagarajan, R. and K. Ganesh. 1989. Block copolymer self-assembly in selective solvents theory of solubilization in spherical micellefc/lacromolecule 2 4312-4325. 

Block Copolymer Self-Assembly Under Confinement... 

Klok, H. A. and Lecommandoux, S., Supramolecular materials via block copolymer self-assembly , Adv. Mater. 2001,13, 1217-1229. 

Keywords Supramolecular system Block copolymer Self-assembled system Inclusion complexes Cyclodextrin Air-water interface Non-covalent interaction Auto-organization... 

In dilute aqueous solutions, polyelectrolyte block copolymers self-assemble into micelles consisting of a hydrophobic core and a polyelectrolyte shell. The study of their structural properties is expected to provide a basic understanding of the properties of dense polyelectrolyte layers, electro-steric stabilization mechanisms, and actuator functions based on variations in the electrostatic interactions. 

Block copolymers self-assemble to form nanoscale organized structures in a selective solvent. The most common structures are spheres, with the insoluble core surrounded by a solvent-swollen corona. In some instances, disk- or worm-like micelles form, and are of particular interest, since the control of their association can lead to a broad range of new applications [1,2]. An important subset of block copolymer micelles are those which contain metal atoms, through covalent attachment or by complexa-tion [3], These structures are interesting because they take advantage of the intrinsic properties of their components, such as the mechanical properties of the polymer micelles and the optical and magnetic characteristics of the metal atoms. Moreover, the assembly permits the control of the uniformity in size and shape of the nanoparticles, and it stabilizes them. 

The literature is abundant in describing the formation of spherical micelles from block copolymer self-assembly. From the classical diblock copolymer AB, two types of micelles could be prepared as a function of their structural parameters (Fig. 5). 

Quemener D, Bonniol G (2010) Free-standing nanomaterials from block copolymer self-assembly. Macromolecules 43 5060-5065... 

Lynd NA, Meuler AJ et al (2008) Polydispersity and block copolymer self-assembly. Prog Polym Sci 33 875-893... 

Keywords Hydrogen bonding Polymers Block copolymers Self-assembly Tunability Responsivity... 

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