Liquid Crystalline Polymer Vesicles: Thermotropic Phases in Lyotropic Structures

摘要

This paper reviews the research work on the liquid crystalline (LC) polymervesicles (polymersomes), where the thermotropic nematic and smectic phases aredisplayed in the lyotropic bilayer polymer membrane. LC polymersomes possessthe properties of both liquid crystals and polymers, the two essential softmatters. LC polymersomes offer, on the one hand, novel examples of theinterplay between orientational order and the curved geometry of a twodimensional membrane. Spherical, ellipsoidal and tetrahedral vesicles arediscussed. On the other hand, LC polymersomes enable novel design ofstimuli-responsive polymersomes using intramolecular conformational transitionfrom nematic to isotropic phase of LC blocks. Photo-responsive polymersomebursting is highlighted.