Topochemical polymerization in self-assembled rodlike micelles of bisurea bolaamphiphiles

Soft Matter. 2014 Feb 21;10(7):952-6. doi: 10.1039/c3sm52605d.

Abstract

Rod-like micelles, formed from bolaamphiphiles with oligo(ethylene oxide) hydrophilic outer segments and a hydrophobic segment with diacetylene flanked by two urea moieties, were covalently fixated by topochemical photopolymerization to high degrees of polymerization by optimizing the hydrophobic core and the hydrophilic periphery of the bolaamphiphiles. Analysis of the polymerized product with dynamic light scattering in chloroform showed degrees of polymerization of approximately 250. Cryo-TEMof bolaamphiphiles before and after UV irradiation showed that the morphology of the rods was conserved upon topochemical polymerization.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't