Manipulating the Morphology of Amphiphilic Graft-Copolymer Assemblies by Adjusting the Flexibility of the Main Chain
Tomoki Nishimura, Shota Fujii, Kazuo Sakurai, Yoshihiro Sasaki, Kazunari Akiyoshi
Abstract
The self-assembly of graft copolymers has received a significant amount of attention recently due to the unique morphologies that can be obtained from this method. However, structural control factors for the self-assembly process have not yet been elucidated due to the complexity of graft-copolymer structures. Therefore, the fabrication of desired morphologies using graft-copolymer self-assembly remains a challenge. Herein, we report that the persistence length of the main chain of graft copolymers is a structural control factor for graft-copolymer self-assembly. Amphiphilic graft copolymers with different main-chain flexibilities are prepared, and these forms either spherical micelles, rods, or vesicles depending on the persistence length of the main chains, even when the degree of substitution of the graft chains is comparable. It can be expected that this study will lead to new guidelines for the design of graft copolymers that can self-assemble to afford specific morphologies.