Theory of critical micelle concentration for solutions of block copolymers
01 Oct 1983-Journal of Chemical Physics (American Institute of Physics)-Vol. 79, Iss: 7, pp 3550-3557
TL;DR: In this paper, a simple microscopic model for micellar formation in mixtures of block copolymers and homopolymers is presented, and the size, number of chains, and energy of formation of micelle are calculated.
Abstract: A simple microscopic model for micellar formation in mixtures of block copolymers and homopolymers is presented. The size, number of chains, and energy of formation of micelle are calculated. The fraction of copolymer chains aggregating into micelles is computed as a function of the overall copolymer content. A critical micelle concentration behavior is found for low copolymer contents even for weak incompatibilities of species. The similarity with an aborted phase transition is underlined.
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TL;DR: A general overview of the preparation, characterization and theories of block copolymer micellar systems is presented in this paper, with examples of micelle formation in aqueous and organic medium are given for di-and triblock copolymers, as well as for more complex architectures.
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TL;DR: In this article, the association properties of poly(ethylene oxide)-block-poly(propyleneoxide)-blockpoly(methylene oxide) (PEO) copolymers in aqueous solutions, and the adsorption at interfaces are reviewed.
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TL;DR: In this paper, the insoluble block (PS) contents in the copolymers ranged from 80 to 98 wt % and the micelle cores, formed by aggregation of the PS blocks, were generally monodisperse.
Abstract: Crew-cut micelle-like aggregates of various morphologies prepared from polystyrene-b-poly(acrylic acid), PS-b-PAA, diblock copolymers under near-equilibrium conditions, were studied by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The insoluble block (PS) contents in the copolymers ranged from 80 to 98 wt %. In spherical micelles, the micelle cores, formed by aggregation of the PS blocks, were generally monodisperse. A comparison between star and crew-cut micelles showed that the latter are distinguished by a low density of corona chains on the core surface and a low degree of stretching of the PS blocks in the cores. As the PAA content in block copolymer decreased, the morphology of the aggregates changed progressively from spheres to cylinders, to bilayers (both vesicles and lamellae), and eventually to compound micelles consisting of an assembly of inverted micelles surrounded by a hydrophilic surface. The compound micelles are believed to be a new morphology for block copolymers. The addition of homopolysty...
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TL;DR: In this article, the synthesis and analysis of novel copolymer-based nanomaterials in solution have been extensively pursued, and the interest in such structures lies in the fact that their dimensions, in the mesoscopic range (
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TL;DR: The gap between block copolymer self-assembly and affordable nanostructured plastics endowed with still-unexplored combinations of properties is getting narrower.
Abstract: In this era of portability and rapid technological advances, polymers are more than ever under pressure to be cheap and offer tailored property profiles. Often, the key lies in designing blends and alloys carefully structured at the appropriate scale (preferably less than a micrometre) from existing polymers. Block copolymers - two or more different polymer chains linked together - have long been thought to offer the solution. Local segregation of the different polymer blocks yields molecular-scale aggregates of nanometre size. Recent progress in synthetic chemistry has unveiled unprecedented opportunities to prepare tailored block copolymers at reasonable cost. Over twenty years of intense academic research and the advent of powerful statistical theories and computational methods should help predict the equilibrium and even non-equilibrium behaviour of copolymers and their blends with other polymers. The gap between block copolymer self-assembly and affordable nanostructured plastics endowed with still-unexplored combinations of properties is getting narrower.
650 citations
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TL;DR: In this paper, a solution to the problem of describing the interface between two immiscible polymers is presented, which is more general than the equations first introduced by Helfand and Tagami.
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368 citations