Greenall, M. J. and Macpherson, H. J. (2022) Mean-field models of size selection in polymer vesicles with and without interdigitation. Physics and Chemistry of Liquids . ISSN 0031-9104
Full content URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/00319104.2022.2122056
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Item Type: | Article |
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Item Status: | Live Archive |
Abstract
Block copolymers in solution can form vesicles with a preferred size when the degree of polymerisation N_B of the hydrophobic block is significantly greater than that of the hydrophilic block. In an earlier publication, we introduced a mean-field theory that treats the vesicle membrane as a bilayer. Here, a model is presented in which the hydrophobic blocks form a single interdigitated layer. In the model with interdigitation, the vesicles still have a preferred radius, but this increases more slowly as a function of N_B than in the bilayer model, in better agreement with experiment. However, the predictions of the bilayer model for the relationship between N_B and the vesicle membrane thickness T_m are consistent with the experimental result T_m ∝ N_B^0.79 over a wide range of parameters, while the model with interdigitation predicts an exponent of around 2/3. This suggests that the structure of the vesicles may lie between these two cases.
Keywords: | polymers, self-assembly, Soft matter |
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Subjects: | F Physical Sciences > F300 Physics F Physical Sciences > F162 Polymer Chemistry |
Divisions: | COLLEGE OF HEALTH AND SCIENCE > School of Mathematics and Physics |
ID Code: | 51676 |
Deposited On: | 29 Sep 2022 11:21 |
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