title: Cylindrical micelles from the aqueous self-assembly of an amphiphilic poly(ethylene oxide)-b-poly(ferrocenylsilane) (PEO-b-PFS) block copolymer with a metallo-supramolecular linker at the block junction.
abstract: A supramolecular AB diblock copolymer has been prepared by the sequential self-assembly of terpyridine end-functionalized polymer blocks by using Ru(III)/Ru(II) chemistry. By this synthetic strategy a hydrophobic poly(ferrocenylsilane) (PFS) was attached to a hydrophilic poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) block to give an amphiphilic metallo-supramolecular diblock copolymer (PEO/PFS block ratio 6:1). This compound was used to form micelles in water that were characterized by a combination of dynamic and static light scattering, transmission electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy. These complementary techniques showed that the copolymers investigated form rod-like micelles in water; the micelles have a constant diameter but are rather polydisperse in length, and light scattering measurements indicate that they are flexible. Crystallization of the PFS in these micelles was observed by differential scanning calorimetry, and is thought to be the key behind the formation of rod-like structures. The cylindrical micelles can be cleaved into smaller rods whenever the temperature of the solution is increased or they are exposed to ultrasound.
authors.affiliation: Unité de Chimie des Matériaux Inorganiques et Organiques (CMAT) and Research Center in Micro- and Nano-Materials and Electronic Devices (CERMIN), Université Catholique de Louvain, Place L. Pasteur 1, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.
authors.forename: Jean-François
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Gohy
authors.forename: Bas G G
authors.initials: BG
authors.lastname: Lohmeijer
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Alexeev
authors.forename: Xiao-Song
authors.initials: XS
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Ian
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Manners
authors.forename: Mitchell A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Winnik
authors.forename: Ulrich S
authors.initials: US
authors.lastname: Schubert