Self-Assembled Aggregates of Rod-Coil Block Copolymers and Their Solubilization and Encapsulation of Fullerenes

摘要

Amphiphilic Poly(phenylquinoline) -block-polystyrene rod-coil diblock copolymers have been observed to self-organize into robust, micrometer-scale, spherical, vesicular, cylindrical, and lamellar aggregates from solution. These diverse aggregate morphologies were observed at each composition but their size scale decreased with decreasing fraction of the rigid-rod block. Compared to coil-coil block copolymer micelles, the present aggregates are larger by about two orders of magnitude and have aggregation numbers of over 10 to the 8th power. The spherical and cylindrical aggregates have large hollow cavities. Only spherical aggregates with aggregation numbers in excess of 10 to the 9th power were formed in the presence of fullerenes (C60, C70) in solution, resulting in the 10 solubilization and encapsulation of over 10 to the 10th power fullerene molecules per aggregate.