Hierarchical Self-Assembly of Double-Crystalline Poly(ferrocenyldimethylsilane)-block-poly(2-iso-propyl-2-oxazoline) (PFDMS-b-PiPrOx) Block Copolymers

Tobias Rudolph; Adam Nunns; Steffi Stumpf; Christian Pietsch; Felix H Schacher

doi:10.1002/marc.201500245

Hierarchical Self-Assembly of Double-Crystalline Poly(ferrocenyldimethylsilane)-block-poly(2-iso-propyl-2-oxazoline) (PFDMS-b-PiPrOx) Block Copolymers

Macromol Rapid Commun. 2015 Sep;36(18):1651-7. doi: 10.1002/marc.201500245. Epub 2015 Jul 14.

Authors

Tobias Rudolph^{1

2}, Adam Nunns³, Steffi Stumpf^{1

2}, Christian Pietsch^{1

2}, Felix H Schacher^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Laboratory of Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Humboldtstr. 10, 07743, Jena, Germany.
² Jena Center for Soft Matter (JCSM), Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Philosophenweg 7, 07743, Jena, Germany.
³ School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1TS, UK.

PMID: 26175001
DOI: 10.1002/marc.201500245

Abstract

The step-wise solution self-assembly of double crystalline organometallic poly(ferrocenyldimethylsilane)-block-poly(2-iso-propyl-2-oxazoline) (PFDMS-b-PiPrOx) diblock copolymers is demonstrated. Two block copolymers are obtained by copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC), featuring PFDMS/PiPrOx weight fractions of 46/54 (PFDMS30-b-PiPrOx75) and 30/70 (PFDMS30-b-PiPrOx155). Nonsolvent induced crystallization of PFDMS in acetone leads in both cases to cylindrical micelles with a PFDMS core. Afterward, the structures are transferred into water for sequential temperature-induced crystallization of the PiPrOx corona, leading to hierarchical double crystalline superstructures, which are investigated using scanning electron microscopy, wide angle X-ray scattering, and differential scanning calorimetry.

Keywords: anionic ring-opening polymerization; cationic ring-opening polymerization; double crystalline block copolymers; organometallic block copolymers; self-assembly.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Calorimetry, Differential Scanning
Micelles
Polyethylene Glycols / chemistry
Polymers / chemical synthesis*
Polymers / chemistry*

Substances

Micelles
Polymers
Polyethylene Glycols