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Fiber‐Like Micelles from the Crystallization‐Driven Self‐Assembly of Poly(3‐heptylselenophene)‐ block ‐Polystyrene
Author(s) -
Kynaston Emily L.,
Gould Oliver E. C.,
Gwyther Jessica,
Whittell George R.,
Winnik Mitchell A.,
Manners Ian
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
macromolecular chemistry and physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.57
H-Index - 112
eISSN - 1521-3935
pISSN - 1022-1352
DOI - 10.1002/macp.201400541
Subject(s) - micelle , materials science , copolymer , polystyrene , crystallinity , crystallization , transmission electron microscopy , dynamic light scattering , cyclohexane , polymer chemistry , nanofiber , dispersity , chemical engineering , polymer , nanoparticle , nanotechnology , chemistry , organic chemistry , composite material , aqueous solution , engineering
The crystallization‐driven self‐assembly (CDSA) of crystalline‐coil polyselenophene diblock copolymers represents a facile approach to nanofibers with distinct optoelectronic properties relative to those of their polythiophene analogs. The synthesis of an asymmetric diblock copolymer with a crystallizable, π‐conjugated poly(3‐heptylselenophene) (P3C7Se) block and an amorphous polystyrene (PS) coblock is described. CDSA was performed in solvents selective for the PS block. Based on transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis, P3C7Se 18 ‐ b ‐PS 125 formed very long (up to 5 μm), highly aggregated nanofibers in n ‐butyl acetate ( n BuOAc) whereas shorter (ca. 500 nm) micelles of low polydispersity were obtained in cyclohexane. The micelle core widths in both solvents determined from TEM analysis (≈ 8 nm) were commensurate with fully‐extended P3C7Se 18 chains (estimated length = 7.1 nm). Atomic force microscopy (AFM) analysis provided characterization of the micelle cross‐section including the PS corona (overall micelle width ≈ 60 nm). The crystallinity of the micelle cores was probed by UV–vis and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy and wide‐angle X‐ray scattering (WAXS).