Head-Tail Asymmetry as the Determining Factor in the Formation of Polymer Cubosomes or Hexasomes in a Rod-Coil Amphiphilic Block Copolymer

Xiaolin Lyu; Anqi Xiao; Wei Zhang; Pingping Hou; Kehua Gu; Zhehao Tang; Hongbing Pan; Fan Wu; Zhihao Shen; Xing-He Fan

doi:10.1002/anie.201804401

Head-Tail Asymmetry as the Determining Factor in the Formation of Polymer Cubosomes or Hexasomes in a Rod-Coil Amphiphilic Block Copolymer

Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2018 Aug 6;57(32):10132-10136. doi: 10.1002/anie.201804401. Epub 2018 Jul 12.

Authors

Xiaolin Lyu¹, Anqi Xiao¹, Wei Zhang¹, Pingping Hou¹, Kehua Gu¹, Zhehao Tang¹, Hongbing Pan¹, Fan Wu¹, Zhihao Shen¹, Xing-He Fan¹

Affiliation

¹ Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Key Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Physics of Ministry of Education, Center for Soft Matter Science and Engineering, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China.

PMID: 29883051
DOI: 10.1002/anie.201804401

Abstract

The self-assembly of a rod-coil amphiphilic block copolymer (ABCP) led to Im3‾ m and Pn3‾ m polymer cubosomes and p6mm polymer hexasomes. This is the first time that these structures are observed in a rod-coil system. By varying the hydrophobic chain length, the initial concentration of the polymer solution, or the solubility parameter of the mixed solvent, head-tail asymmetry is adjusted to control the formation of polymer cubosomes or hexasomes. The formation mechanism of the polymer cubosomes was also studied. This research opens up a new way for further study of the bicontinuous and inverse phases in different ABCP systems.

Keywords: block copolymers; head-tail asymmetry; inverse phases; self-assembly; solvent effects.