Herein, spindle-shaped block copolymer (BCP) nanoparticles are used in seeded polymerization of methyl methacrylate as a novel approach to generating cylindrical nanostructures. The chain-extension of BCP seeds by an amorphous coil-type polymer within the seed core composed of semifluorinated liquid-crystalline blocks triggers the deforming, stretching, and directional growth of the seeds along the long axis, eventually leads to nanorods.
Keywords: cylindrical nanostructures; directional morphology evolution; liquid-crystalline ordering; polymerization-induced self-assembly; seeded polymerization; spindle-shaped nanoparticles.
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