Review
Polymer Science
Lin-Lin Xiao, Xu Zhou, Kan Yue, Zi-Hao Guo
Summary: Conjugated block copolymers (cBCPs) are promising materials with high conductivity and morphological versatility, making the study of their self-assembly behaviors crucial for enhancing device performance.
Review
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Liam R. MacFarlane, Huda Shaikh, J. Diego Garcia-Hernandez, Marcus Vespa, Tomoya Fukui, Ian Manners
Summary: pi-Conjugated polymers exhibit diverse electronic and optical properties. This review discusses the preparation of self-assembled nanoparticles from these polymers and their applications in optoelectronics, biomedical imaging and therapy, photocatalysis, and sensing. The development of pi-conjugated polymers has opened up new possibilities for functional organic materials similar to inorganic semiconductors, with nanoparticles based on these polymers showing promise in various emerging applications.
NATURE REVIEWS MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Garion E. J. Hicks, Sheng Li, Nimrat K. Obhi, Charles N. Jarrett-Wilkins, Dwight S. Seferos
Summary: π-Conjugated polymers have unique properties that depend on their ordering, with programming techniques such as covalent and solution programming playing a key role in controlling their assembly. Progress in programming at different stages of material development highlights order-dependent features and unique assembly techniques for pi-conjugated polymers.
ADVANCED MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Riham Muzaffar-Kawasma, Meirav Oded, Roy Shenhar
Summary: This study utilizes block copolymer micelles to organize semiconductor nanorods into circularly arranged superstructures. The shape of the micelle templates the arrangement of nanorods and the nanorods exhibit surfactant-like behavior, protecting the micelles from coalescence. The study also explores the influence of micelle attributes on nanorod organization.
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Minkyeong Park, Seulki Kang, Chongyong Nam, Karnati Narasimha, Won Bo Lee, So-Jung Park
Summary: This study reports the magnetic field-induced self-assembly of a conjugated block copolymer and iron oxide nanoparticles at the air-water interface. The magnetic field significantly improves the degree of order, resulting in long-range ordered nanoarrays of the polymer and nanoparticles. The size of the nanoparticles plays a crucial role in the formation of an ordered assembly structure at the nanometer scale.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Yusuke Hibi, Ulrich Wiesner
Summary: Surface segregation in blended polymer films has attracted significant interest, and a strategy to control this phenomenon in thin block-copolymer layers has been described in this study. By utilizing nonsolvent induced phase separation, solidified bilayer ultrafiltration membranes with self-assembled BCP top layers atop homopolymer substructures can be fabricated in a single casting step. Key factors for successful BCP surface segregation include careful selection of solvent systems and stabilization of micellar structures.
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Polymer Science
R. Simonutti, D. Bertani, R. Marotta, S. Ferrario, D. Manzone, M. Mauri, M. Gregori, A. Orlando, M. Masserini
Summary: This study investigates the effect of using different common solvents on the self-assembly behavior of block copolymer nanoparticles, finding that the hydrogen bonding ability of the solvent strongly influences the size and shape of the particles, as well as their cytotoxicity.
Article
Polymer Science
Jiucheng Nie, Zhongming Wang, Longgang Xia, Xiaoyu Huang, Guolin Lu, Chun Feng
Summary: The co-self-seeding approach of living crystallization-driven self-assembly (CDSA) allows for the generation of fiber-like micelles with a tunable length/composition/morphology of the π-conjugated core. However, the understanding of this approach in the preparation of fiber-like micelles with a heterogeneous π-conjugated core is limited. This study demonstrates that polydisperse comicelles with a heterogeneous OPE9/OPV5 core can be formed via crystallization-driven co-self-assembly, and that apparent continuous and segmented fiber-like comicelles can be generated through co-self-seeding.
EUROPEAN POLYMER JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Polymer Science
Deborah Y. Liu, Daniel Krogstad
Summary: The study explores the use of ionic liquid as both a curing agent and a structure-directing agent in epoxy/BCP blends, achieving a wide range of self-assembled structures in the uncured blends, including hexagonally packed cylinders and lamellar structures. Many compositions undergo phase transitions during the curing process, with some transitions proving to be quite complex.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Xiaona Cui, Hongmin Zhang, Yuwei Liu, Nan Jiang, Aixin Song, Hong-Guo Liu
Summary: Nanostructures based on polymers have been extensively studied due to their diverse morphologies, unique properties, and potential applications in various fields. Helical nanostructures, in particular, have received significant research attention in recent years. In this study, composite non-helical and helical nanowire arrays were successfully fabricated using the liquid/liquid interfacial adsorption and self-assembly approach without the addition of chiral inducers. The formation of helical nanowires involved a series of steps including adsorption of polymer molecules and inorganic species at the interface, protonation of pyridine groups, straightening of polymer chains, aggregation due to hydrophobic interactions, and ordered organization through specific interactions. The different formation mechanisms observed in atactic poly(2-vinylpyridine) and block copolymers (polystyrene-block-poly(2-vinylpyridine)) highlighted the influence of molecular structure on polymer self-assembly. Additionally, the generated nanowires further organized into ordered arrays under increasing interfacial pressure. This study expands the knowledge on polymer self-assembly and demonstrates the application of liquid/liquid interfacial self-assembly techniques in obtaining highly ordered supramolecular nanostructures.
COLLOIDS AND SURFACES A-PHYSICOCHEMICAL AND ENGINEERING ASPECTS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Hongyun Xu, Han Xiao, Christopher J. Ellison, Mahesh K. Mahanthappa
Summary: This study successfully synthesized materials with nanoporous structures through thermal cross-linking and selective chemical etching, challenging the expectation that remaining cylinders cannot form a continuous material. Scanning electron microscopy imaging revealed the interconnected nanostructures, while permeation behavior of poly(ethylene oxide) based on hydrodynamic radius directly demonstrated the continuity and size selectivity of the material.
Article
Polymer Science
Yuhan Wei, Fujun Liu, Min Li, Zhibo Li, Jing Sun
Summary: The solubility effect on the self-assembly of PEG-b-PNPE block copolymer with a crystalline core-forming polypeptoid in aqueous solution was systematically investigated. It was found that the balance between the crystallization and solubility of the polymer dominates the nanostructures. Depending on the restriction of PNPE block crystallization, either 1D nanofibers or 2D nanosheets induced by CDSA were observed.
Article
Materials Science, Characterization & Testing
Jordana K. Palacios, Rose Mary Michell, Alejandro J. Mueller
Summary: This review provides a comprehensive analysis of the crystallization behavior and self-assembly of block copolymers with up to four potentially crystallizable phases. It discusses the factors affecting the development of crystalline structures and highlights recent advances in block copolymer crystallization. The article also explores the influence of different molecular architectures, as well as the role of nanofillers and additives in the crystallization process.
Review
Polymer Science
Wenqing Xu, Ying Zheng, Pengju Pan
Summary: This review highlights the significance of self-assembly in fabricating polymer materials as well as the impact of crystallization-driven self-assembly on polymers.
JOURNAL OF POLYMER SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Judith Stickdorn, Lara Stein, Danielle Arnold-Schild, Jennifer Hahlbrock, Carolina Medina-Montano, Joschka Bartneck, Tanja Ziss, Evelyn Montermann, Cinja Kappel, Dominika Hobernik, Maximilian Haist, Hajime Yurugi, Marco Raabe, Andreas Best, Krishnaraj Rajalingam, Markus P. Radsak, Sunil A. David, Kaloian Koynov, Matthias Bros, Stephan Grabbe, Hansjoerg Schild, Lutz Nuhn
Summary: Specific immune responses are crucial for the development of effective tumor vaccines. A pH-responsive nanogel platform consisting of an antigen and an immune adjuvant can elicit strong immune responses and inhibit tumor growth.