Liquid crystalline phase behavior of well-defined cylindrical block copolymer micelles using synchrotron small-angle X-ray scattering

DOI: 10.1021/ma502222f

Authors: Dominic Hayward (University of Bristol) , Joe Gilroy (University of Bristol) , Paul A. Rupar (University of Bristol) , Laurent Chabanne (University of Bristol) , Claire Pizzey (Diamond Light Source) , Mitchell A. Winnik (University of Toronto) , George Whittell (University of Bristol) , Ian Manners (University of Bristol) , R M Richardson (University of Bristol)
Co-authored by industrial partner: No

Type: Journal Paper
Journal: Macromolecules , VOL 48 (5)

State: Published (Approved)
Published: February 2015
Diamond Proposal Number(s): 6035

Abstract: The structure and phase behaviour of colloidal solutions of monodisperse rod-shaped micelles, of different lengths (ca. 300 nm - 2100 nm) and formed from poly(ferrocenylsilane)-block-polyisoprene (PFS-b-PI) diblock copolymers, have been investigated using synchrotron small angle X-ray scattering. The dimensions of the crystalline PFS core, solvated PI corona and the overall radial polydispersity were measured and relationships between the characteristics of the constituent copolymers and the internal structure of the self-assembled micelles have been established. In addition, the effects of micelle length, length distribution, concentration, composition and block length on the liquid crystalline phase behaviour of the micelles have been determined. It was found that micelle dispersions exist in three distinct phases: isotropic, nematic and hexagonally-packed crystalline, depending predominantly on their concentration and aspect ratio. The results have also highlighted the importance of the coronal composition and structure in determining the high-concentration behaviour of micelle dispersions.

Journal Keywords: Chemical structure; Colloids; Micelles; Order; Scattering

Subject Areas: Physics, Materials, Chemistry


Instruments: I22-Small angle scattering & Diffraction

Added On: 17/02/2015 17:47

Discipline Tags:

Physics Soft condensed matter physics Chemistry Materials Science Polymer Science

Technical Tags:

Scattering Small Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS)