Article
Polymer Science
Huiying Wang, Qiang Chen, Zhen Geng, Jingyi Rao, Bijin Xiong, Frederic Lortie, Julien Bernard, Wolfgang H. Binder, Senbin Chen, Jintao Zhu
Summary: By introducing 2,6-diaminopyridine moieties and H-bonding amphiphilic interactions, a simple and effective self-assembly strategy was designed to form giant vesicles with a diameter of approximately 3 μm, providing a new opportunity for the design of supramolecular polymers.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Zhongguo Liu, Xin Chen, Ze Yang, Shuai Wang, Zhanhui Gan, Gang Li, Xue-Hui Dong
Summary: The study demonstrates the preparation of a library of discrete amphiphilic polymeric chains using molecular nanoparticles as repeat units, with exact control of composition, chain length, surface property, and regio-configuration. These giant polymeric chains self-assembled into highly ordered phases, with findings that regio-regularity has a profound impact on chain conformation.
Article
Polymer Science
Takaya Ikami, Yuki Watanabe, Hiroki Ogawa, Mikihito Takenaka, Norifumi L. Yamada, Makoto Ouchi, Hiroyuki Aoki, Takaya Terashima
Summary: By controlling the composition of the copolymers with octadecyl groups and hydroxyethyl groups in solution, ordered lamellar structures can be formed in the solid state, while spin-coating the polymer solutions onto silicon substrates allows the copolymers to autonomously form multilayered lamellar thin films.
Article
Polymer Science
Roman Schaller, Christian Hils, Matthias Karg, Holger Schmalz
Summary: This article introduces a unique method of preparing surface-compartmentalized micelles with a semi-crystalline stereocomplex core and a patch-like microphase separated corona, which shows potential applications in efficient emulsion stabilization and polymer blend compatibilization.
MACROMOLECULAR RAPID COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Review
Polymer Science
Ketan Kuperkar, Dhruvi Patel, Leonard Ionut Atanase, Pratap Bahadur
Summary: This article mainly introduces the self-assembly of amphiphilic block copolymers in aqueous media forming various core-shell structures, and discusses different types of polymer micelles. The latest updates on polymerization-induced self-assembly and crystallization-driven self-assembly, as well as discussions on polyion complexes and polyion complex micelles, are also mentioned.
Article
Polymer Science
Duyu Chen, Timothy Quah, Kris T. Delaney, Glenn H. Fredrickson
Summary: In this study, the phase behavior of bottlebrush copolymers with different side chain sequences was systematically investigated using self-consistent field theory simulations. It was found that these copolymers can stabilize a wider variety of ordered mesophases compared to bottlebrush block copolymers, and can stabilize sphere phases over a larger range of species volume fractions. Additionally, a new strategy of stabilizing the Frank-Kasper phase A15 was uncovered by introducing conformational asymmetry.
Article
Polymer Science
Qingliang Song, Qingshu Dong, Xue-Hui Dong, You-Liang Zhu, Weihua Li
Summary: The self-assembly of amphiphiles containing giant monomers of the cubic cage was studied using DPD simulations. The presence of giant monomers significantly influenced the structure and phase behavior, leading to changes in morphology types and phase boundaries.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Thomas J. Neal, Nicholas J. W. Penfold, Steven P. Armes
Summary: This study reports a new aqueous polymerization-induced self-assembly (PISA) formulation that utilizes a reverse sequence approach to prepare hydrophobic blocks and produce charge-stabilized latex particles. The latex is then converted into smaller sterically stabilized diblock copolymer nanoparticles, which exhibit thermoresponsive behavior.
ANGEWANDTE CHEMIE-INTERNATIONAL EDITION
(2022)
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.
Article
Polymer Science
Tengfei Yuan, Yuesheng Li, Dong-Po Song
Summary: Photonic balls with special structures and responsiveness can be obtained through interfacial self-assembly. These photonic balls can change color by altering the pH value and have potential applications.
MACROMOLECULAR RAPID COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Marco Krummenacher, Martin O. O. Steinhauser
Summary: In this study, molecular dynamics computer simulations were used to investigate the complexation and clustering of branched polymers, focusing on star and bottle-brush polymers. The results provide insights into the factors governing the formation of polymer clusters and offer guidance for designing and preparing various types of polymer clusters. The study highlights the role of the hydrophobic parts of polymers in the self-assembly process.
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL PHYSICS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Li-Yun Su, Hsin-Hsiang Huang, Yan-Cheng Lin, Guan-Lin Chen, Wen-Chang Chen, Wei Chen, Leeyih Wang, Chu-Chen Chueh
Summary: In this study, interfacial engineering using an amphiphilic dendritic block copolymer (DBC) and gold nanoparticles (NPs) was demonstrated to enhance the performance and thermal stability of non-fullerene bulk-heterojunction organic photovoltaic devices. The newly developed DBC@AuNPs interlayer improved device efficiency by enabling better energy-level alignment and enhanced interfacial compatibility at the ZnO/BHJ interface, showing great potential for commercialization with a T(80)lifetime of over 1.79 years at room temperature.
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Zi-Hao Zhou, Jian-Guo Zhang, Qing Chen, Yan-Ling Luo, Feng Xu, Ya-Shao Chen
Summary: A novel temperature responsive lateral chain photosensitive block copolymer was synthesized, showing apparent light and temperature dual responsiveness, making it a potential drug controlled release carrier for cancer therapy.
MACROMOLECULAR BIOSCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Polymer Science
Guokang He, Peng Wang, Ning Gao, Xianpeng Yin, Fuwei Sun, Wenyun Li, Hongwei Zhao, Chen Wang, Guangtao Li
Summary: We report a new type of brush-like triblock copolymer that can serve as a structure-directing agent for the formation of mesoporous silicates and be converted into mesostructured polymer or carbon materials. The versatile nature of this copolymer allows for the facile access to various mesostructured silica, polymer, and carbon materials. The brush-like hydrophilic segments of the copolymers can firmly anchor into the silica walls, providing a prerequisite for reliable confined chemical transformation into mesostructured materials.
Review
Polymer Science
Yusuke Sakamoto, Tomoki Nishimura
Summary: The self-assembly of amphiphilic block copolymers is a powerful tool for fabricating nanoparticles with various nanostructures in aqueous solutions. The self-assembly behavior of amphiphilic copolymers is influenced by polymer architecture, and amphiphilic graft copolymers exhibit unique self-assembly behavior, forming nanostructures that cannot be formed by block polymers. However, the self-assembly of amphiphilic graft copolymers is still relatively unexplored.
Article
Polymer Science
Rebecca Randle, Rebecca E. Ginesi, Olga Matsarskaia, Ralf Schweins, Emily R. Draper
Summary: By mixing different low molecular weight gelators, multifunctional gels with favorable properties can be formed. This study found that by altering the method of preparation, the self-assembly behavior of the gels can be influenced.
MACROMOLECULAR RAPID COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Albert Prause, Michelle Hechenbichler, Robert F. Schmidt, Sylvain Prevost, Leide P. Cavalcanti, Andre Laschewsky, Michael Gradzielski
Summary: Oil-in-water microemulsions usually have low viscosity and exhibit ordinary viscosity reduction with increasing temperature. However, for certain applications, it might be necessary to avoid or even reverse the temperature trend. This can be achieved by adding thermoresponsive block copolymers that induce network formation as the temperature increases. The viscosity enhancement with increasing temperature was observed for various microemulsion-polymer mixtures, and the most pronounced enhancement was observed for pNPAm-based systems.
Article
Polymer Science
Albert Prause, Michelle Hechenbichler, Robert F. Schmidt, Miriam Simon, Sylvain Prevost, Leide P. Cavalcanti, Yeshayahu Talmon, Andre Laschewsky, Michael Gradzielski
Summary: Temperature control of rheological properties of aqueous solutions can be achieved by the addition of temperature-responsive amphiphilic polymers. In this study, three sets of acrylamide-based block copolymers with different architectures were explored, and their viscosities showed a substantial increase with increasing temperature. The changes in rheological properties were correlated with the mesoscopic organization of the systems.
Article
Polymer Science
Julija Reitenbach, Christina Geiger, Peixi Wang, Apostolos Vagias, Robert Cubitt, Dirk Schanzenbach, Andre Laschewsky, Christine M. Papadakis, Peter Mueller-Buschbaum
Summary: The swelling behavior of PNIPMAM thin films containing magnesium salts in water vapor is investigated for their potential applications as nanodevices. In situ time-of-flight neutron reflectometry is used to probe the extent and kinetics of the swelling ratio and water content. In situ Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and two-dimensional FTIR correlation analysis are utilized to study the solvation events and enhance the sensitivity of PNIPMAM thin films. The addition of Mg(ClO4)2 or Mg(NO3)2 results in higher water uptake and thickness gain in the swollen state, with Mg(NO3)2 showing the highest relative water uptake.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Mohammad Rashedul Hasan, Bart-Jan Niebuur, Martin Siebrecht, Bjorn Kuttich, Ralf Schweins, Asaph Widmer-Cooper, Tobias Kraus
Summary: Solvent engineering provides a powerful method to control the colloidal stability of nanoparticles. In this study, the molecular structure of ligand shells on gold nanoparticles was found to affect their stability in solvent mixtures. The agglomeration temperature of the nanoparticles depended on the solvent composition and exhibited different trends in different solvent mixtures. Molecular dynamics simulations revealed that temperature-dependent ligand order played a dominant role in the agglomeration process, while the solvent composition near the ligands significantly influenced the ligand shell ordering. The results highlight the importance of ligand-solvent and solvent-solvent interactions in determining the colloidal stability of nanoparticles in solvent mixtures.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Qingwen Guan, Kate McAulay, Tian Xu, Sarah E. Rogers, Charlotte Edwards-Gayle, Ralf Schweins, Honggang Cui, Annela M. Seddon, Dave J. Adams
Summary: Self-sorting in functionalized dipeptide systems can occur based on the chirality of a single amino acid, both in the micellar state at high pH and in the gel state at low pH. The resulting structures are influenced by the relative concentrations of the components, demonstrating the complexity of this approach. The gel network's structures are determined by the micellar structures at high pH. Using small-angle neutron scattering and cryo-transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM), we provide strong evidence for self-sorting in both the micellar and gel phases, showing complete self-sorting across a range of relative concentrations.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Cristiane Henschel, Dirk Schanzenbach, Andre Laschewsky, Chia-Hsin Ko, Christine M. Papadakis, Peter Mueller-Buschbaum
Summary: Sets of nonionic polymers pNVIBAm and pNIPMAm with molar mass from 20,000 to 150,000 kg mol-1 are synthesized by radical polymerization, and their thermoresponsive and solvent-responsive behaviors in aqueous solution are studied. Both polymers exhibit a rare type II lower critical solution temperature (LCST), similar to well-studied pNIPAm. Additionally, both polymers display co-nonsolvency behavior in mixtures of water with various co-solvents, but the co-nonsolvency becomes less pronounced in the order pNIPAm > pNVIBAm > pNIPMAm. Notably, pNIPMAm does not exhibit co-nonsolvency in mixtures of water and N,N-dimethylformamide.
COLLOID AND POLYMER SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Alexander V. Petrunin, Maximilian M. Schmidt, Ralf Schweins, Judith E. Houston, Andrea Scotti
Summary: The softness of microgels is influenced by various factors such as particle characteristic lengths, sample concentration, chemical composition of the sample, and elastic moduli of the particle. This study investigates the response of ionic microgels to crowding. The behavior of charged and uncharged ionic microgels in concentrated suspensions of neutral and ionic microgels with the same swollen size is examined.
Article
Polymer Science
Peixi Wang, Christina Geiger, Julija Reitenbach, Apostolos Vagias, Lucas P. Kreuzer, Suzhe Liang, Robert Cubitt, Viet Hildebrand, Andre Laschewsky, Christine M. Papadakis, Peter Mueller-Buschbaum
Summary: The KCl-modulated swelling behavior of double thermoresponsive diblock copolymer(DBC) thin films and their subsequent responsive behavior in a D2O atmosphere are investigated using spectral reflectance (SR), in situ time-of-flight neutron reflectometry (ToF-NR), and Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. The addition of KCl to the DBC thin films increases their swelling ratio and D2O content during vapor treatment. The films further swell and reach a maximum thickness before contracting upon subsequent heating. Two separate volume phase transition temperatures (VPTTs) are observed, which correspond to a further swelling plateau and the start of contraction. KCl reduces the VPTTc of the PNIPMAM blocks and forms an enrichment layer in the film during heating.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Maike Petermann, Lucie Dianteill, Amal Zeidi, Romeio Vaha Ouloassekpa, Paul Budisavljevic, Claude Le Men, Ceidric Montanier, Pierre Roblin, Bernard Cabane, Ralf Schweins, Claire Dumon, Antoine Bouchoux
Summary: Using small-angle neutron scattering, the structure and conformational behavior of wheat arabinoxylan (AX) in a sodium phosphate aqueous buffer at various concentrations were examined. It was observed that xyloglucan, another major hemicellulose, had a small number of large clusters surrounded by AX chains, behaving as a polymer in good solvent. The study provided insights into the properties of water-soluble AX at different length scales, which could be beneficial for the development of AX-based products and processes as alternatives to fossil carbon molecules.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Alexander Zika, Mohit Agarwal, Ralf Schweins, Franziska Groehn
Summary: Quadruple-switchable nanoscale assemblies are created by combining two types of water-soluble molecular photoswitches, allowing activation through irradiation with two different wavelengths.
JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Polymer Science
Chia-Hsin Ko, Cristiane Henschel, Geethu P. Meledam, Martin A. Schroer, Renjun Guo, Peter Mueller-Buschbaum, Andre Laschewsky, Christine M. Papadakis
Summary: This study reveals that the micellar structures of PMMA-b-PNIPAM diblock copolymers in aqueous solution can be controlled by varying the content of methanol. The methanol content strongly influences the size, aggregation number, shell thickness, and interactions of the micelles.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Wenke Mueller, Ralf Schweins, Bernd Noecker, Joachim Kohlbrecher, Glen J. Smales, Klaus Huber
Summary: The co-assembly of three one-fold negatively charged 3-chloro-4-hydroxy-phenylazo dyes with the cationic surfactant DTAB was investigated. Different phase separations and crystalline dye-DTAB complexes were observed for each dye, with varying stoichiometries in homogeneous solution. The observed stoichiometries are inversely correlated to the impact dye addition has on the morphology of DTAB micelles.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Wenke Mueller, Ralf Schweins, Bernd Noecker, Hans Egold, Klaus Huber
Summary: The complexity of intermolecular interactions and the difficulty to predict assembly behaviour solely based on chemical constitution were demonstrated by studying the self-assembly of three one-fold negatively charged 3-chloro-4-hydroxy-phenylazo dyes (Yellow, Blue and Red). Differences in dye self-assembly were observed, with Yellow not self-assembling, Red forming higher-order aggregates, and Blue forming well-defined H-aggregate dimers with a dimerization constant of Kd = (728 +/- 8) L mol(-1). These differences were suggested to arise from variations in the propensity to form pi-pi interactions due to electrostatic repulsion, sterical constraints and hydrogen-bonding interactions.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Iva Manasi, Ralf Schweins, Kun Ma, Karen J. Edler
Summary: This study investigates the nanostructure of deep eutectic solvents (DESs) composed of different sulfobetaines and camphor sulfonic acid, as well as their interactions with water and dodecane. Small angle neutron scattering experiments reveal that water and dodecane interact with the hydrophilic and hydrophobic moieties in the DES structure, causing the entire structure to swell and solvate. This research has the potential to provide new templating methods for growing inorganic or polymeric materials using DESs.