Abstract
Polymerization-induced self-assembly (PISA) is a powerful technique for preparing block copolymer nanostructures. Recently, efforts have been focused on applying photochemistry to promote PISA due to the mild reaction conditions, low cost, and spatiotemporal control that light confers. Despite these advantages, chain-end degradation and long reaction times can mar the efficacy of this process. Herein, we demonstrate the use of ultrafast photoiniferter PISA to produce polymeric nanostructures. By exploiting the rapid photolysis of xanthates, near-quantitative monomer conversion can be achieved within five minutes to prepare micelles, worms, and vesicles at various core-chain lengths, concentrations, or molar compositions.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | e202309951 |
| Journal | Angewandte Chemie - International Edition |
| Volume | 62 |
| Issue number | 48 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Nov 27 2023 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Funding
This material is based on work supposed by the National Science Foundation (DMR‐1904631) and DoD through the ARO (W911NF‐17‐1‐0326). M.A.V. is grateful for the support of the National Science Foundation and Northwestern University through the Graduate Research Fellowship (DGE‐1842165) and Dr. John N. Nicholson Fellowship, respectively. This work made use of the EPIC facility within Northwestern University's NUANCE facility, which receives support from the Soft and Hybrid Nanotechnology Experimental (SHyNE) Resource (NSF ECCS‐202563), the International Institute for Nanomaterials (NIH‐S10OD026871), and the Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers (NSF DMR‐1720139).
Keywords
- Block Copolymers
- Nanoparticles
- Photochemistry
- Polymerization
- Self-Assembly