Preparation of non-spherical particles from amphiphilic block copolymers

Kristian Kempe, Ross A. Wylie, Michael D. Dimitriou, Helen Tran, Richard Hoogenboom, Ulrich S. Schubert, Craig J. Hawker, Luis M. Campos, Luke A. Connal*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

23 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Simple self-assembly techniques to fabricate non-spherical polymer particles, where surface composition and shape can be tuned through temperature and the choice of non-solvents was developed. A series of amphiphilic polystyrene-b-poly(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline) block copolymers were prepared and through solvent exchange techniques using varying non-solvent composition a range of non-spherical particles were formed. Faceted phase separated particles approximately 300 nm in diameter were obtained when self-assembled from tetrahydrofuran (THF) into water compared with unique large multivesicular particles of 1200 nm size being obtained when assembled from THF into ethanol (EtOH). A range of intermediate structures were also prepared from a three part solvent system THF/water/EtOH. These techniques present new tools to engineer the self-assembly of non-spherical polymer particles.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)750-757
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Polymer Science, Part A: Polymer Chemistry
Volume54
Issue number6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 15 Mar 2016
Externally publishedYes

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