Hybridization of Polymeric Micelles in a Dispersion Mixture

Abstract

In a selective solvent, n-hexane, diblock coil−rod-like copolymers poly(ferrocenyldimethylsilane-block-dimethylsiloxane) (PFS-b-PDMS) can form spherical core−shell polymer micelles with an insoluble and aggregated PFS core and a soluble swollen PDMS shell. The micelles become larger with an increasing PFS content. The mixture of two dispersions made of PFS138-b-PDMS702 and PFS235-b-PDMS837 results in hybridization of these two kinds of block copolymer chains. The hybridization kinetics was studied by a combination of static and dynamic laser light scattering. As soon as the two micelle dispersions were mixed, larger hybrid micelles made of PFS138-b-PDMS702 and PFS235-b-PDMS837 were formed at the expense of each kind of the “pure” micelles. The hybridization can be attributed to the entropy gain as well as the space filling because the PFS block is rigid and rodlike.