Design and Control Over Morphology of Pseudopeptidic Bottlebrush Polymer/Liquid Crystal Composites

Abstract

Polymer liquid crystal composites (PLCCs) with controlled microstructures have several applications in nanotechnology and biology. We, herein, present the design, fabrication, and morphology of pseudopeptidic bottlebrush polymer and nematic liquid crystal composites. An array of extendable submicron to micron size architectures, viz., porous networks, spheres, particles, aggregates, and vesicles is generated from PLCC by appropriately modulating the concentration of polymer, liquid crystal (LC), and solvent in the composite. In addition, the formation of vesicular architectures is monitored with the variation of LC and polymer concentration. The average vesicles size grows from ~250 nm to ~1 µm as the LC concentration increases. The effective loading of LC in the vesicle core is further validated by Raman mapping. Various ultramicroscopic methods such as polarizing optical microscopy (POM), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM) are used to characterize the different microstructures. The methodology presented here, opens up a myriad of possibilities for fabricating high-performance PLCC-based technical devices.