Organometallic–Polypeptide Block Copolymers: Synthesis and Self‐Assembly of Poly(ferrocenyldimethylsilane)‐b‐Poly( ε ‐benzyloxycarbonyl‐ L ‐Lysine)

A new type of metallopolymer‐polypeptide block copolymer poly(ferrocenyldimethylsilane)‐ b ‐poly ( ε ‐benzyloxycarbonyl‐ l‐ lysine) was synthesized by ring‐opening polymerization of ε ‐benzyloxycarbonyl‐ l‐ lysine N‐carboxyanhydride initiated by using a primary amino‐terminated poly(ferrocenyldimethylsilane). Studies on the self‐organization behavior of this polypeptide block copolymer in both the bulk state and in solution were performed. In the bulk state, a cylindrical‐in‐lamellar structure was observed in a compositionally asymmetric sample. Rod‐like micelles with a polyferrocenylsilane core formed in a polypeptide‐selective solvent alone or in the presence of a common solvent. Significantly, an additional small quantity of the common solvent assisted the formation of longer micelles and micelles with better shape‐regularity. This is attributed to a decrease in the number of nucleation events and PFS core reorganization effects.