writer：Yang, H.; Jia, L.; Zhu, C.; Di-Cicco, A.; Levy, D.; Albouy, P.-A.; Li, M.-H.; Keller, P.*
keywords：Self-Assembly
source：期刊
specific source：Macromolecules, 2010, 43, 10442-10451.
Issue time：2010年

What could be the self-assembly behaviour in aqueous solution for an amphiphilic block copolymer with a very flexible hydrophobic backbone possessing however a liquid crystalline (LC) order? To answer this question, five amphiphilic block copolymers were prepared by grafting, via a thiol-ene addition reaction, four different thiol functionnalized LC mesogens or LC-like side groups on two commercially available poly(ethylene oxide)-block-poly(butadiene) (PEO-b-PB) polymers. These copolymers form monodisperse nanospheres in dilute deionized water with the aid of 1,4-dioxane as co-solvent (dioxane-H₂O system), while in THF-H₂O system, some give heterogeneous polydisperse micelles, and others form large hollow concentric spherical vesicles (“Russian dolls” arrangement). Smectic stripes inside the vesicles and the nanospheres are clearly visualized by cryo-TEM technique.