In Situ Monitoring of Block Copolymer Self-Assembly via Solvent Exchange through Controlled Dialysis with Light and Neutron Scattering Detection.
Fiche publication
Date publication
septembre 2023
Journal
ACS macro letters
Auteurs
Membres identifiés du Cancéropôle Est :
Dr SCHMUTZ Marc
Tous les auteurs :
Fauquignon M, Porcar L, Brûlet A, Le Meins JF, Sandre O, Chapel JP, Schmutz M, Schatz C
Lien Pubmed
Résumé
Solution self-assembly of amphiphilic block copolymers (BCs) is typically performed by a solvent-to-water exchange. However, BC assemblies are often trapped in metastable states depending on the mixing conditions such as the magnitude and rate of water addition. BC self-assembly can be performed under near thermodynamic control by dialysis, which accounts for a slow and gradual water addition. In this Letter we report the use of a specifically designed dialysis cell to continuously monitor by dynamic light scattering and small-angle neutron scattering the morphological changes of PDMS--PEG BCs self-assemblies during THF-to-water exchange. The complete phase diagrams of near-equilibrium structures can then be established. Spherical micelles first form before evolving to rod-like micelles and vesicles, decreasing the total developed interfacial area of self-assembled structures in response to increasing interfacial energy as the water content increases. The dialysis kinetics can be tailored to the time scale of BC self-assembly by modifying the membrane pore size, which is of interest to study the interplay between thermodynamics and kinetics in self-assembly pathways.
Référence
ACS Macro Lett. 2023 09 6;:1272-1279