Tunable assembly of amphiphilic rod–coil block copolymers in solution

Abstract

This review covers the recent progress in the research field of rod-coil block copolymers (BCPs) containing rigid rod-like blocks and flexible coil-like blocks. Their assembly behaviors are fundamentally different from coil-coil BCPs in morphology because of the geometric disparity between the rod and coil segments and anisotropic interactions between rod blocks to form liquid crystalline or crystalline structures. Rod-coil BCPs can self-assemble into diverse nanostructures in selective solvents, such as micelles, cylinders, vesicles, tubules, belts, and rings. This review highlights valuable contributions in the past six years on the self-assembly behavior of rod-coil BCPs controlled by the volume fraction and the composition of the blocks from both the experimental and theoretical perspectives, and their tunable self-assembled nanostructures triggered by external stimuli, such as solvent, pH, temperature, light, and chemical additives. We also briefly introduce emerging applications of rod-coil nanoparticles in the biological field.