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Spherulite‐Like Micelles
Author(s) -
Song Shaofei,
Zhou Hang,
Ye Shuyang,
Tam Jason,
Howe Jane Y.,
Manners Ian,
Winnik Mitchell A.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
angewandte chemie international edition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.831
H-Index - 550
eISSN - 1521-3773
pISSN - 1433-7851
DOI - 10.1002/anie.202101177
Subject(s) - spherulite (polymer physics) , micelle , materials science , crystallization , decane , chemical engineering , copolymer , amphiphile , nanotechnology , block (permutation group theory) , chemical physics , crystallography , polymer science , composite material , chemistry , polymer , geometry , organic chemistry , engineering , mathematics , aqueous solution
One‐dimensional (1D) and 2D structures by crystallization‐driven self‐assembly of block copolymers (BCPs) can form fascinating hierarchical structures through secondary self‐assembly. But examples of 3D structures formed via hierarchical self‐assembly are rare. Here we report seeded growth experiments in decane of a poly(ferrocenyldimethylsilane) BCP with an amphiphilic corona forming block in which lenticular platelets grow into classic spherulite‐like uniform colloidally stable structures. These 3D objects are spherically symmetric on the exterior, but asymmetric near the core, where there is a more open structure consisting of sheaf‐like leaves. The most remarkable aspect of these experiments is that growth stops at different stages of growth process, depending upon how much unimer is added in the seeded growth step. The system provides a model for studying spherulitic growth where real‐time observations on their growth at different stages remains challenging.