Solution Self-Assembly of PFS Block Copolymers

PDMS300 (PFS PDMS = 1 6) in hexane. (Reproduced with permission from J. A. Massey, K.N. Power, M.A. Winnik and I. Manners, Organometallic nanostructures Self-assembly of poly (ferrocene) block copolymers, Advanced Materials, 1998, 10, 1559. Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH Co. KGaA.) 

Under certain circumstances, spherical aggregates were also found. For example, when PFS cylindrical micelles were heated above the of the PFS block (circa 120-145 °C) (Raez et al, 2002a) or an amorphous poly(ferrocenylmethylphenylsilane) (Massey et al, 2000) block was used to replace semicrystalline PFS in the block copolymers. 

PFS block copolymers are also able to self-assemble in water when hydrophilic blocks are incorporated (Gohy et al, 2004 Wang et al, 2005a). Following the successful synthesis of 

Despite the success in the fabrication of nanoceramic lines by plasma etching of aligned micellar precursors, our further exploitations of PFS nanostructures were often frustrated by the labile nature of the self-assembled micelles in that they easily undergo dissociation in a common solvent or at an elevated temperature. 

PFS53 nanocylinders. (Reprinted with permission from X.S. Wang, A.C. Arsenault, G.A Ozin et al., Shell cross-linked cylinders of polyisoprene-b-ferrocenyldimethylsilane Formation of magnetic ceramic replicas and microfluidic channel alignment and patterning, Journal of the American Chemical Society, 125, 12686, 2003. 2003 American Chemical Society.) 

---