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Xie S, Lindsay AP, Bates FS, Lodge TP. Formation of a C15 Laves Phase with a Giant Unit Cell in Salt-Doped A/B/AB Ternary Polymer Blends. ACS NANO 2020; 14:13754-13764. [PMID: 32866375 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.0c06071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Salt-doped A/B/AB ternary polymer blends, wherein an AB copolymer acts as a surfactant to stabilize otherwise incompatible A and B homopolymers, display a wide range of nanostructured morphologies with significant tunability. Among these structures, a bicontinuous microemulsion (BμE) has been a notable target. Here, we report the surprising appearance of a robust C15 Laves phase, at compositions near where the BμE has recently been reported, in lithium bis(trifluoromethane) sulfonimide (LiTFSI)-doped low-molar-mass poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO)/polystyrene (PS)/symmetric PS-b-PEO block copolymer blends. The materials were analyzed by a combination of small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), 1H NMR spectroscopy, and impedance spectroscopy. The C15 phase emerges at a high total homopolymer volume fraction ϕH = 0.8 with a salt composition r = 0.06 (Li+/[EO]) and persists as a coexisting phase across a large area of the isothermal phase diagram with high PS homopolymer compositions. Notably, the structure exhibits a huge unit cell size, a = 121 nm, with an unusually high micelle core volume fraction (fcore = 0.41) and an unusually low fraction of amphiphile (20%). This unit cell dimension is at least 50% larger than any previously reported C15 phase in soft matter, despite the low molar masses used, unlocking the possibility of copolymer-based photonic crystals without compromising processability. The nanostructured phase evolution from lamellar to hexagonal to C15 along the EO60 isopleth (ϕPEO,homo-LiTFSI/ϕH = 0.6) is rationalized as a consequence of asymmetry in the homopolymer solubility limit for each block, which leads to exclusion of PS homopolymer from the PS-b-PEO brush prior to exclusion of the PEO homopolymer, driving increased interfacial curvature and favoring the emergence of the C15 Laves phase.
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Abstract
From drug delivery to nanoreactors and protocells, polymersomes have gained considerable interest from researchers due to their novel applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- James Lefley
- Department of Chemistry
- University of Warwick
- Coventry
- UK
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Xie S, Meyer DJ, Wang E, Bates FS, Lodge TP. Structure and Properties of Bicontinuous Microemulsions from Salt-Doped Ternary Polymer Blends. Macromolecules 2019. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.9b01963] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
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Xiang Z, Wang S, Yang Y, Xin X. Equilibrium, thermodynamics and kinetics study on Au(III) extraction by gemini surfactant with different spacer length. SEP SCI TECHNOL 2018. [DOI: 10.1080/01496395.2018.1521831] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Zeyang Xiang
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Key Laboratory for Special Functional Aggregate Materials of Education Ministry, Shandong University, Jinan, China
| | - Shubin Wang
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Key Laboratory for Special Functional Aggregate Materials of Education Ministry, Shandong University, Jinan, China
| | - Yanzhao Yang
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Key Laboratory for Special Functional Aggregate Materials of Education Ministry, Shandong University, Jinan, China
| | - Xia Xin
- National Engineering Technology Research Center For Colloidal Materials, Shandong University, Jinan, China
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Irwin MT, Hickey RJ, Xie S, So S, Bates FS, Lodge TP. Structure–Conductivity Relationships in Ordered and Disordered Salt-Doped Diblock Copolymer/Homopolymer Blends. Macromolecules 2016. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.6b01553] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Matthew T. Irwin
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science and ‡Department of
Chemistry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States
| | - Robert J. Hickey
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science and ‡Department of
Chemistry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States
| | - Shuyi Xie
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science and ‡Department of
Chemistry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States
| | - Soonyong So
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science and ‡Department of
Chemistry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States
| | - Frank S. Bates
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science and ‡Department of
Chemistry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States
| | - Timothy P. Lodge
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science and ‡Department of
Chemistry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States
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Irwin MT, Hickey RJ, Xie S, Bates FS, Lodge TP. Lithium Salt-Induced Microstructure and Ordering in Diblock Copolymer/Homopolymer Blends. Macromolecules 2016. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.6b00995] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Matthew T. Irwin
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials
Science and ‡Department of
Chemistry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States
| | - Robert J. Hickey
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials
Science and ‡Department of
Chemistry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States
| | - Shuyi Xie
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials
Science and ‡Department of
Chemistry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States
| | - Frank S. Bates
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials
Science and ‡Department of
Chemistry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States
| | - Timothy P. Lodge
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials
Science and ‡Department of
Chemistry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States
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So S, Lodge TP. Size Control and Fractionation of Ionic Liquid Filled Polymersomes with Glassy and Rubbery Bilayer Membranes. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2016; 32:4959-4968. [PMID: 27159064 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.6b00946] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
We demonstrate control over the size of ionic liquid (IL) filled polymeric vesicles (polymersomes) by three distinct methods: mechanical extrusion, cosolvent-based processing in an IL, and fractionation of polymersomes in a biphasic system of IL and water. For the representative ionic liquid (1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl) imide ([EMIM][TFSI])), the size and dispersity of polymersomes formed from 1,2-polybutadiene-b-poly(ethylene oxide) (PB-PEO) and polystyrene-b-poly(ethylene oxide) (PS-PEO) diblock copolymers were shown to be sensitive to assembly conditions. During mechanical extrusion through a polycarbonate membrane, the relatively larger polymersomes were broken up and reorganized into vesicles with mean size comparable to the membrane pore (100 nm radius); the distribution width also decreased significantly after only a few passes. Other routes were studied using the solvent-switch or cosolvent (CS) method, whereby the initial content of the cosolvent and the PEO block length of PS-PEO were systemically changed. The nonvolatility of the ionic liquid directly led to the desired concentration of polymersomes in the ionic liquid using a single step, without the dialysis conventionally used in aqueous systems, and the mean vesicle size depended on the amount of cosolvent employed. Finally, selective phase transfer of PS-PEO polymersomes based on size was used to extract larger polymersomes from the IL to the aqueous phase via interfacial tension controlled phase transfer. The interfacial tension between the PS membrane and the aqueous phase was varied with the concentration of sodium chloride (NaCl) in the aqueous phase; then the larger polymersomes were selectively separated to the aqueous phase due to differences in shielding of the hydrophobic core (PS) coverage by the hydrophilic corona brush (PEO). This novel fractionation is a simple separation process without any special apparatus and can help to prepare monodisperse polymersomes and also separate unwanted morphologies (in this case, worm-like micelles).
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Affiliation(s)
- Soonyong So
- Department of Chemical Engineering & Materials Science and ‡Department of Chemistry, University of Minnesota , Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States
| | - Timothy P Lodge
- Department of Chemical Engineering & Materials Science and ‡Department of Chemistry, University of Minnesota , Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States
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Asano I, So S, Lodge TP. Oil-in-Oil Emulsions Stabilized by Asymmetric Polymersomes Formed by AC + BC Block Polymer Co-Assembly. J Am Chem Soc 2016; 138:4714-7. [PMID: 27046136 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.6b01697] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
We demonstrate a facile route to asymmetric polymersomes by blending AC and BC block copolymers in oil-in-oil emulsions containing polystyrene (PS) and polybutadiene (PB) in chloroform (CHCl3). Polymersomes were prepared by mixing polystyrene-b-poly(ethylene oxide) (SO) and polybutadiene-b-poly(ethylene oxide) (BO) in the oil-in-oil emulsion, where the droplets and continuous phase are PS- and PB-rich, respectively. The polymersome structure was directly visualized using dye-labeled SO and BO with confocal fluorescence microscopy; SO and BO with a high O block fraction co-assemble to produce asymmetric polymersomes. As the O block is insoluble in both PS and PB, we infer that the detailed structure of the polymersomes is a bilayer in which the S and B blocks face the PS-inner and PB-outer phases, respectively, while the common O blocks form the core membrane. This structure is only observed for sufficiently long O blocks. It is remarkable that although all the polymers are soluble in CHCl3, such elaborate structures are created by straightforward co-assembly. These asymmetric polymersomes should provide robust bilayer membranes around emulsion droplets, leading to stable nanoscopic dispersions of two fluids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Itaru Asano
- Chemicals Research Laboratories, Toray Industries, Inc. , 9-1, Oe-cho, Minato-ku, Nagoya 455-8502, Japan
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Kyu Kim D, Jung Choi E, Ho Song H, Soo Kim M. Experimental and numerical study on the water transport behavior through Nafion® 117 for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell. J Memb Sci 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.memsci.2015.09.053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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So S, Yao LJ, Lodge TP. Permeability of Rubbery and Glassy Membranes of Ionic Liquid Filled Polymersome Nanoreactors in Water. J Phys Chem B 2015; 119:15054-62. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.5b08425] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Soonyong So
- Department of Chemical Engineering & Materials Science and ‡Department of Chemistry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States
| | - Letitia J. Yao
- Department of Chemical Engineering & Materials Science and ‡Department of Chemistry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States
| | - Timothy P. Lodge
- Department of Chemical Engineering & Materials Science and ‡Department of Chemistry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States
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Influence of natural gas production chemicals on scale production in MEG regeneration systems. Chem Eng Sci 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ces.2015.03.037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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