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Electrostatically Directed Self‐Assembly of Ultrathin Supramolecular Polymer Microcapsules
Author(s) -
Parker Richard M.,
Zhang Jing,
Zheng Yu,
Coulston Roger J.,
Smith Clive A.,
Salmon Andrew R.,
Yu Ziyi,
Scherman Oren A.,
Abell Chris
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
advanced functional materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.069
H-Index - 322
eISSN - 1616-3028
pISSN - 1616-301X
DOI - 10.1002/adfm.201501079
Subject(s) - materials science , supramolecular chemistry , self assembly , nanotechnology , microfluidics , fabrication , copolymer , polymer , supramolecular polymers , supramolecular assembly , molecule , composite material , chemistry , organic chemistry , medicine , alternative medicine , pathology
Supramolecular self‐assembly offers routes to challenging architectures on the molecular and macroscopic scale. Coupled with microfluidics it has been used to make microcapsules—where a 2D sheet is shaped in 3D, encapsulating the volume within. In this paper, a versatile methodology to direct the accumulation of capsule‐forming components to the droplet interface using electrostatic interactions is described. In this approach, charged copolymers are selectively partitioned to the microdroplet interface by a complementary charged surfactant for subsequent supramolecular cross‐linking via cucurbit[8]uril. This dynamic assembly process is employed to selectively form both hollow, ultrathin microcapsules and solid microparticles from a single solution. The ability to dictate the distribution of a mixture of charged copolymers within the microdroplet, as demonstrated by the single‐step fabrication of distinct core–shell microcapsules, gives access to a new generation of innovative self‐assembled constructs.