title: Interaction between block copolymer micelles and azobenzene-containing surfactants: from coassembly in water to layer-by-layer assembly at the interface.
abstract: In this paper, we describe the use of block copolymer micelles to incorporate Azo-AOT, an azobenzene-containing amphiphile having a structure suitable for reverse micelle formation and the fabrication of polyelectrolyte/micelle multilayer films. Interestingly, it is found that the PS21-PAA157 micelles can incorporate more Azo-AOT molecules than the PS115-PAA15 micelles, which is different from the case of incorporation of noncharged hydrophobic molecules. Moreover, Azo-AOT incorporated into the PS21-PAA157 micelles undergoes a faster photoisomerization than in the PS115-PAA15 micelles, which seems to be related to different aggregation states of Azo-AOT in the two micelles. From the data of UV-vis spectra, we can infer that Azo-AOT adopts a reverse micelle-like aggregation state in the PS115-PAA15 micelles and disperses in the interface between the core and corona of PS21-PAA157 micelles. These polyelectrolyte/micelle films incorporating functional amphiphiles have great potential in the field of functional thin films.
authors.affiliation: Key Lab of Organic Optoelectronics and Molecular Engineering, Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084.
authors.forename: Ning
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: Yapei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Baoyu
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Zhiqiang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Xi
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Guang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Yue
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhao