Kinetic assembly of block copolymers in solution helical cylindrical micelles and patchy nanoparticles

There is always an interest to understand how molecules behave under different conditions. One application of this knowledge is to self-assemble molecules into increasingly complex structures in a simple fashion. Self-assembly of amphiphilic block copolymer in solution has produced a large variety of nanostructures through the manipulation in polymer chemistry, assembly environment, and additives. Moreover, some reports suggest the formation of many polymeric assemblies is driven by kinetic process. The goal of this dissertation is to study the influence of kinetics on the assembly of block copolymer. The study shows kinetic control can be a very effective way to make novel polymeric nanostructures. Two examples discussed here are helical cylindrical micelles and patchy nanoparticles.;Helical cylindrical micelles are made from the co-assembly of amphiphilic triblock copolymer poly(acrylic acid)-block-poly(methyl acrylate)- block-polystyrene and organoamine molecules in a mixture of tetrahydrofuran (THF) and water (H2O). This system has already shown promise of achieving many assembled structures. The unique aspects about this system are the use of amine molecules to complex with acid groups and the existence of cosolvent system. Application of amine molecules offers a convenient control over assembled morphology and the introduction of PMA-PS selective solvent, THF, promotes the mobility of the polymer chains. In this study, multivalent organoamine molecules, such as diethylenetriamine and triethylenetetramine, are used to interact with block copolymer in THF/water mixture. As expected, the assembled morphologies are dependent on the polymer architecture, selection and quantity of the organoamine molecules, and solution composition. Under the right conditions, unprecedented, multimicrometer-long, supramolecular helical cylindrical micelles are formed. Both single-stranded and double-stranded helices are found in the same system. These helical structures share uniform structural parameters, including the width of the micelles, width of the helix, and the pitch distance. There is no preference to the handedness, and both handednesses are observed, which is understandable since there are no chiral molecules or specific binding effects applied during the assembly.;The helical structure is a product of kinetic process. Cryogenic transmission electron microscopy has been employed to monitor the morphological transformation. The study indicates there are two complicated but reproducible kinetic pathways to form the helices. One pathway involves the stacks of bended cylinders at early stages and the subsequent interconnection of these bended cylinders. Spherical micelles bud off of the interconnected nanostructure as the final step towards a defect-free helix. Another kinetic pathway shows very short helices are formed at first and aligned via head-to-tail style in the solution, and the subsequent sequential addition of these short helices results in prolonged mature helices.;By using a ninhydrin-staining technique, amine molecules within the micellar corona are visualized and confirmed to preferentially locate in the inner side of the helical turns. The aggregation of amine molecules provides a strong attraction force due to electrostatic association between oppositely charged amine and acid groups and accumulation of hydrogen bonding among amine molecules to coil the cylindrical micelles into helical twisting features which are stabilized by the repulsion forces due to the chain packing frustration within the hydrophobic core, steric hindrance of amine molecules as well as the Coulomb repulsion of the excess charged amine groups.;The formation mechanism of the helix offers the feasibility to manipulate the helical pitch distance and formation kinetics. The helical pitch distance can be enlarged or shrunk by varying the type and amount of amine molecules used in assembly, introducing inorganic salts, and changing pH. Luckily, the helical structure can be preserved permanently by inducing the amide reaction between amine and carboxylic acid groups. The kinetics of the helix is also subject to many factors, including used amine molecules, inorganic salts and preparation procedure. The aging time for the helix can be either reduced or prolonged. Furthermore, even though the helical formation is pathway-dependent, helical formation can still be triggered from extended cylindrical micelles or stacks of disklike micelles as long as a right condition is applied.;Another strategy for kinetic assembly of block copolymer is presented as well. A novel patchy nanoparticle has been produced following this strategy. The patches are formed on the surface of polymeric colloids due to the phase separation of two chemically unlike segments. Certain level of mobility of the polymer chains is required for the blocks to segregate into patches. More importantly, the number and distribution geometry of the patches are related to the particle size. Future efforts are needed to control the particle size in order to manufacture uniform nanoparticles with desired patch patterns for the applications in nanotechnology, drug delivery and nanodevices.