Non-equilibrium dynamics of block copolymer micelles in solution: recent insights and open questions
- ️Marc-Olivier Coppens
a Radiation and Isotopes for Health, Radiation, Radionuclides & Reactors, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Delft University of Technology, Mekelweg 15, The Netherlands
b Nano-Structured Materials, Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Delft University of Technology, Julianalaan 136, The Netherlands
c Howard P. Isermann Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 110 8th Street, Troy NY 12180, USA
Abstract
The increasing variety and complexity of block copolymers leads to a large morphological diversity of self-assembled structures. This, in turn, opens the way for numerous new applications in fields spanning from drug delivery and templated synthesis of nanoporous materials to oil extraction. However, unlike low-molecular weight surfactants, the dynamics of block copolymer systems can be very slow, which has important consequences for carrying out reliable experiments and for their use in practical applications. This paper highlights the mechanism of non-equilibrium block copolymer dynamics, and discusses micellization and transition kinetics between spherical and rod-like micelles by examining the present knowledge and posing some open questions.
Article information
- https://doi.org/10.1039/C001175B
- Highlight
- 18 Jan 2010
- 01 Mar 2010
- 15 Apr 2010
DOI
Article type
Submitted
Accepted
First published
Soft Matter, 2010,6, 2351-2357
Permissions
Non-equilibrium dynamics of block copolymer micelles in solution: recent insights and open questions
A. G. Denkova, E. Mendes and M. Coppens, Soft Matter, 2010, 6, 2351 DOI: 10.1039/C001175B
To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.
If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.
If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.
Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.