onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/macp.200500368/abstract

The complexation between polystyrene-block-poly(acrylic acid) (PS-b-PAA) micelles and poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(4-vinyl pyridine) (PEG-b-P4VP) is studied and a facile strategy is proposed to prepare three-layered core–shell–corona micellar complexes. Micellization of PS-b-PAA in ethanol gives rise to spherical core–shell micelles with the PS block as the core and the PAA block as the shell. When PEG-b-P4VP is added into the core–shell micellar solution, the P4VP block penetrates into the PAA shell and is absorbed into the core–shell micelles to form spherical core–shell–corona micellar complexes with the PS block as the core, the bonded PAA/P4VP blocks as the shell, and the PEG block as the corona. The core radius, Rc, of the core–shell–corona micellar complexes, 15.1 nm, is equal to that of the core–shell micelles, and the thickness, Ds, of the PEG corona is about 1.5 nm, while the shell thickness, Ds, ranges from 12.2 to 15.7 nm depending on the weight ratio of PEG-b-P4VP to PS-b-PAA.