Neutron Scattering Studies of Structure and Self‐Assembly of Star‐Shaped Polymers with Fullerene Centres in Solutions

Protonated star‐shaped polystyrenes with single and double fullerene C 60 core and the hybrid stars with pairs of polar and non‐polar arms (tertbuthylmetacrylate, polystyrene) have been studied in deuterated toluene (20 °C) by small‐angle neutron scattering at low and moderate polymer concentrations ( c 1  ∼ 1 g/dl, c 2  ∼ 3–6 g/dl) to evaluate the peculiarities of fullerene centre action on polymers self‐assembly in solutions. As we found, the cores composed of two fullerenes, linked via Si(CH 3 ) 2 ‐bridge, induce stars' anisotropic interactions and association into chain‐like structures (correlation radius ∼400–600 nm). Meanwhile, the single‐core stars of polystyrene and hybrids organize globular clusters (size ∼ 10 3 nm) those geometry do not change significantly by polymer content variation.