title: Morphological Evolution of Self-Assembled Structures Induced by the Molecular Architecture of Supra-Amphiphiles.
abstract: A series of telechelic supramolecular amphiphiles [POSS-Azo8@(β-CD-PDMAEMA)1→8] was accomplished by orthogonally coupling the multiarm host polymer β-cyclodextrin-poly(dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate) (β-CD-PDMAEMA) with an octatelechelic guest molecule azobenzene modified-polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POSS-Azo8) under different host-guest ratios. These telechelic supramolecular amphiphiles possess a rigid core and flexible corona. Increasing the multiarm host polymer coupled onto the rigid POSS core made the molecular architecture tend to be symmetrical and spherical. POSS-Azo8@[β-CD-PDMAEMA]1→8could self-assemble into diverse morphologies evolving from spherical micelles, wormlike micelles, and branched aggregates to bowl-shaped vesicles. Distinct from the traditional linear amphiphilic polymers, we discovered that the self-assembly of POSS-Azo8@[β-CD-PDMAEMA]1→8was dominantly regulated by their molecular architectures instead of hydrophilicity, which has also been verified using computer simulation results.
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Boxuan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Xing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: University of Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 100049, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Fei
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: University of Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 100049, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Decheng
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-5276-8607
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wu